The Catholic Church in Australia is gearing up for a nationwide measure of Mass attendance. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
In May, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s National Centre for Pastoral Research will conduct the 6th National Count of Attendance.
This year marks 25 years of collecting valuable insights into long-term trends within the Catholic Church.
Centre director Trudy Dantis urged all parishes and dioceses to take part in the count, to be conducted over the first four consecutive Sundays (and Saturday evenings) in May.
“Mass attendance is perhaps the most basic measure of religious practice,” Dr Dantis said.
“Most dioceses conduct counts of attenders, but not every diocese does it with the same frequency, in the same way or at the same time.”
“The National Count is conducted in the same year as the Australian Census [to be held on August 11] so that the information collected can most effectively be used in association with results from the other project.”
As occurred at the previous count in 2021, parishes will be asked to provide estimates of the age and sex of attendees and to report the number of online views for streamed Masses or other Sunday assemblies.
According to the 2021 National Count, about 8.2 per cent of Australia’s Catholic population, or 417,300 people, attended Mass on a typical weekend in May.
Most of those attended Mass in a parish, but the figure also included people attending Mass in non-parish centres, such as migrant centres, hospitals, jails, boarding schools, and some who attended an assembly in the absence of a priest.
Counting over four Sundays ensures that fortnightly and monthly Masses are not overlooked. This is particularly important for many country towns and migrant communities.
For more information visit the National Centre for Pastoral Research website.
FULL STORY
We’re counting on you (ACBC Media Blog)
