Catholic Population Totals Remain Steady

California, New York and Texas continue to report America’s biggest Roman Catholic populations and together have a third of the church’s U.S. membership of 62 million, according to the 2000 Catholic Almanac.

The states with the highest percentages of Catholics in the population, however, are Rhode Island at 63.7%, Massachusetts, 48.9%, New Jersey, 41.8%, and Connecticut, 40.9%.

The almanac, published by Our Sunday Visitor Inc., shows that as of 1999, Catholics made up 22.7% of the U.S. population, as in 1998. Numbers of Catholics had increased by less than 1% from 1998, but by 13% since 1989.

The almanac reported the U.S. church had 47,210 priests, 84,034 sisters and 5,970 brothers, all slight decreases from 1998, though the 12,675 permanent deacons represent an increase.