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The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ , so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the Catholic Church who follow a rule (Latin: regula) of life, and are therefore also members of religious institutes. Secular clergy are clerics who are not bound by a rule of life.
Since 1970, the number of Catholic priests in the world has decreased by about 5,000, to 414,313 priests as of 2012. [16] but the worldwide Catholic population has nearly doubled, growing from 653.6 million in 1970 to 1.229 billion in 2012. [16] This has resulted in a worldwide shortage of Catholic priests.
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 9 ] It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization .
Catholic clergy at the consecration of the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sarajevo (1889).. Clergy are formal leaders within established religions.Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices.
clerics regular (priests who take religious vows and have an active apostolic life) Catholic religious orders began as early as the 500s, with the Order of Saint Benedict being formed in 529. The earliest orders include the Cistercians (1098), the Premonstratensians (1120), the Poor Clares founded by Francis of Assisi (1212), and the ...
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