US Study: Less Than 1% Of Religious Sisters Are Under 40

Landmark New Figures Have Revealed The Dire Circumstances Of Religious Communities in The United States of America.

Laudetur Iesus Christus.

WASHINGTON D.C. - New figures released by United States religious institutions have highlighted the dramatic decrease in vocations to consecrated religious life.

A Group of Religious Sisters Prior to The Second Vatican Council.

The concerning figures come at a time when Catholics have to seriously wonder where and what went wrong, with thousands of religious sisters abandoning their vows in the wake of the Vatican II reformations.

According to a recent study, less than 1% of nuns in the United States of America are under 40, and the average age of a religious sister is 80 years old.

In 2022, there were fewer than 42,000 nuns in America, a 76% decline over 50 years.

At the rate Sisters are disappearing, one estimate said that there will be fewer than 1,000 nuns left in the United States by 2042, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.

Sister Kelly Williams is working toward becoming one of the few nuns still left in the life. She is 34 years old and started her journey nine years ago. She said people are often surprised that she is so "normal."

"I think I have had people be surprised that I like to listen to music, and not all of it is religious," said Williams, who added that she and her roommates enjoy watching Netflix and Hulu together.

Williams is a former college admissions counsellor who lives in Chicago with four other sisters close to her age.

She expects to take her final vows in a few years and officially become a Catholic sister with the Sisters of Mercy - one of the largest religious orders for Catholic women. "God has big plans, and hopefully, we follow them." said Williams.