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Statistics of the Catholic Church in Spain as of 31 December 2024 (from the Central Office of Church Statistics)

The following are some statistical data regarding the situation of the Catholic Church in Spain as of 31 December 2024:

Table 1 – Population and ecclesiastical structure

 

 

Spain

Area (km 2 )

 

505,992

Population (in thousands)

 

48,620

Density (inhabitants/km 2 )

 

96

Catholics (in thousands)

 

45,336

Catholics per 100 inhabitants

 

93.25

Ecclesiastical circumscriptions

 

71

Parishes

 

22,788

Other pastoral centres

 

4,137

Catholics per pastoral centre

 

1,684

 

 

 

Table 2 – People engaged in activities of the apostolate

Bishops (Situation as of 30.04.2026)

 

130

 

Diocesan priests

 

12,461

 

Religious priests

 

5,652

 

Total priests

 

18,113

 

Permanent deacons

 

601

 

Men religious other than priests

 

2,435

 

Professed women religious

 

32,996

 

Members of secular institutes

 

1,588

 

Lay missionaries

 

96

 

Catechists

 

80,637

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3 – Indicators of pastoral workload

Catholics per priest

 

2,503

 

Catholics per pastoral worker

 

332

 

Priests per pastoral centre

 

0.67

 

Priests per 100 people engaged in activities of apostolate

 

13.4

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4 – Priestly vocations

Minor seminarians

 

595

 

Major seminarians

 

1,343

 

Major seminarians per 100.000 inhabitants

 

2.76

 

Major seminarians per 100.000 Catholics

 

2.96

 

Major seminarians per 100 priests

 

7.41

 

 

 

 

 

Table 5 - Educational centres owned / managed by ecclesiastics or religious

Schools:

 

 

- Pre-school and primary

 

3,773

- Middle and secondary

 

1,885

- Higher education and university

 

104

 

 

 

Students in:

 

 

- Pre-school and primary

 

726,856

- Middle and secondary

 

549,013

- Higher education and university

 

158,709

 

 

 

Table 6 - Charitable and social centres owned / managed by ecclesiastics or religious

Hospitals

 

58

Clinics

 

51

Leper colonies

 

-

Homes for the elderly and disabled

 

848

Orphanages and nurseries

 

660

Family consultation centres

 

226

Special social education or rehabilitation centres

 

197

Other institutions

 

3,051

Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Morondava, Madagascar

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Msgr. Jeannot Martial Andrianandrainy, of the clergy of Antsirabé, until now vicar general of the same see and rector of the preparatory seminary in Manantenasoa, as auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Morondava, Madagascar, assigning him the titular see of Elephantaria in Mauretania.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Jeannot Martial Andrianandrainy was born on 13 January 1976 in Befelatanana, Madagascar. After studying philosophy at the seminary of Manantenasoa and theology at the major seminary of Faliarivo, he was awarded a licentiate in spiritual theology at the Studium Notre-Dame de Vie in Avignon and in dogmatic theology at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris. He then attended a course in formation for formators in Avignon.

He was ordained a priest on 1 August 2009 for the diocese of Antsirabé.

He has held the following offices: educator (2009-2011) and rector (since 2019) of the preparatory seminary in Manantenasoa, Antsirabé; diocesan administrator (2022-2023); since 2023, vicar general.

This morning the Holy Father received in audience:

- Archbishop Celestino Migliore, titular of Canosa, apostolic nuncio in France;

- A delegation from the “Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities”.

This morning’s General Audience took place at 10.00 in Saint Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Leo XIV met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and all over the world.

In his address in Italian, the Pope continued his cycle of catechesis on “The Documents of the Second Vatican Council”, focusing on the theme: Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. Rite, sign and symbol (Reading: Lk 24:28-31).

After summarizing his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed special greetings to the faithful in attendance.

The General Audience concluded with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

 

The Documents of the Second Vatican Council. III. Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium.  3. Rite, sign and symbol

Dear brothers and sisters,

As we continue our catechesis on the Conciliar Constitution  Sacrosanctum Concilium  ( SC ), we wish to pause and reflect on some of the fundamental elements of the sacred liturgy, such as rite, sign and symbol.

The Second Vatican Council , building on the valuable work of the Liturgical Movement, has helped us to rediscover a truth that was very much alive in the consciousness of the early Church and in the teaching of the Fathers. The rites of the Christian liturgy are not a mere external covering of the sacramental mystery, a collection of arbitrary ceremonies, but are the ecclesial mediation through which the divine gift reaches us. Precisely for this reason, the Council invites us to understand the  Mysterium fidei  which is realized in the liturgy through rites and prayers (cf.  SC , 48).

Rite gives shape to liturgical action and, through it, to our lives, generating in us a spiritual sensibility that makes us capable of savouring the presence of God through Jesus Christ. Naturally, this happens if we do not remain strangers or silent spectators (cf.  ibid. ) with regard to the liturgy, but participate in it with our full selves – body, mind and heart – in obedience to the Lord’s command. Through the sacred rite we are thus formed in listening to the Word of God, in giving thanks and in adoration, in fraternal sharing and in ecclesial communion. We discover that we are an assembly with many faces, united by the same faith.

The rite involves us in a well-defined sequence of gestures and prayers, which can sometimes be at odds with our individual tendency towards spontaneity. Its logic, however, is not to constrain freedom within rigid frameworks. On the contrary, with the solemn simplicity of its rhythms, the rite interrupts our frenetic activities, leading us back to what is essential. We thus discover another dimension of action, not guided by calculations of productivity, and another experience of time and space. In the rite we experience a logic of gratuitousness, we find a pause that regenerates the heart, we recognize that we are preceded by divine grace, we learn to live in a rhythm inhabited by the Holy Spirit.

The grammar of the rite is interwoven with the signs and symbols proper to the liturgy. In it, as  the Council  states, “the sanctification of the man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs” ( SC , 7).  The  Catechism of the Catholic Church  explores the value of these signs, recalling that “their meaning is rooted in the work of creation and in human culture, specified by the events of the Old Covenant and fully revealed in the person and work of Christ” ( no. 1145 ). The sign of water is emblematic: from the origins of creation to the Flood, from the crossing of the Red Sea to the Jordan, right up to the water flowing from Christ’s side, which becomes a sacramental sign of immersion in His death and resurrection.

“Sign” and “symbol” are terms that are often used as synonyms. In reality, a sign is symbolic when it is able to refer not only to an idea, but to an entire system of meanings and values. In this way, for example, when we are sprinkled with holy water, our awareness of the gift received at Baptism and our commitment to new life in Christ is rekindled. Secondly, symbols are essentially practical in nature, being first and foremost actions: some simple and common, such as kneeling and exchanging the sign of peace, or more demanding, such as the constitutive acts of each Sacrament. Above all, symbols have a unique performative and transformative dimension, both in relation to the material elements of which they are composed and to those who come into contact with them, engendering a sense of belonging, touching the heart and mind, and giving rise to authentic ecclesial relationships.

In the Apostolic Letter  Desiderio desideravi ,  Pope Francis , echoing a statement by Romano Guardini, identified “the first task of the work of liturgical formation: man must become once again capable of symbols” ( no. 44 ). We need to allow ourselves to be educated by the rites of the liturgy, caring for the beauty of our celebrations with a delicate touch and without arbitrariness, and committing ourselves to an authentic mystagogy. The experience of a living and devout liturgy, accompanied by appropriate mystagogical catechesis, is the best resource for reawakening in everyone that openness to the encounter with God which, in the logic of the Incarnation, can only take place by involving the whole person: spirit, soul and body (cf.  1 Thess  5:23).

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Greeting in English

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Sweden, Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Canada, and the United States of America. I greet in particular the scholars and participants in the conference “Revising the World Medical Association Declaration of Taipei” and the organizing partners of the Global Summit, “Fostering Hope for Children.” As we prepare for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, let us be strengthened by this divine gift and become witnesses of his love to all we encounter. God bless you!

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Summary of the Holy Father's words

Dear brothers and sisters, in our series of catecheses on  the Second Vatican Council , we continue our reflection on  Sacrosanctum Concilium , by looking at the elements of the rite, the sign, and the symbol found in the sacred liturgy. The rite of the Christian liturgy is the ecclesial mediation through which the divine gift reaches us. In the liturgy, we are invited to participate — body, mind, and heart — and enter into a dimension inhabited by the Holy Spirit. In order to enter into this dimension, the liturgy is woven with signs and symbols that have a performative and transformative dimension. For example, kneeling is a sign of our worship of God while exchanging the sign of peace points to our ecclesial communion. Further, signs help us to recall the constitutive acts of the Sacraments as when we are sprinkled with holy water we remember our commitment to Christ. As we prepare for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, may each of us reawaken our openness to an encounter with God by rediscovering the signs and symbols of the sacred liturgy.

This morning, in the study of the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience a delegation from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, United States of America.

The following is the greeting addressed by the Pope to those present at the meeting:

 

Greeting of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you.

Good morning to all of you, and welcome on this dark, rainy morning in Rome. The light shines from inside today!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I am pleased to greet you during the 2026 Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities Rome Seminar. As presidents and rectors of these Institutions, I trust that your experience here in the heart of the Church will serve to strengthen your faith and renew your commitment to the Church’s universal mission. In particular, dedicated as you are to the task of education, I pray that your hearts be all the more captivated by the beauty of truth and the grandeur of humanity, created by God and redeemed by Christ.

In light of  the Encyclical Letter I recently published , I would like to address a few words to you concerning the decisive importance of Catholic education in today’s world. One of the challenges that the world of education is currently facing is the increasing fragmentation of knowledge. While it is easy to find people who are experts in a particular field of study, many of these individuals “struggle to find direction in their lives, partly due to an inability to connect information with deeper knowledge or maintain a sense of purpose” ( Magnifica Humanitas , 146). They often lack a global vision of reality that is capable of uniting not only the various fields of knowledge, but also the multiple aspects of life and the inner longings of the human heart.

Catholic education has a particularly significant role to play in this regard. As young men and women come to your Colleges and Universities looking to study a specific degree, oftentimes motivated by future job perspectives, yours is the noble task of guiding that desire for knowledge so that they may also “learn to seek and love the truth, to reflect on the meaning of life and to recognize the dignity of every person” ( ibid. , 143). This is not an easy feat. As you are well aware, seeking the truth requires not only learning and mentorship, but also great effort (cf.  ibid. ,139). Unless Catholic education instills in students a true passion for the truth — and not only intellectual truth, but the Truth that is Christ himself (cf.  Jn  14:6) — we can hardly expect people to be willing to put forth the effort required to recognize truth and adapt one’s life accordingly. Indeed, Catholic institutions are called to be a “living environment in which the Christian vision permeates every discipline and every interaction” ( Apostolic Letter,  Drawing New Maps of Hope ,  5.2). Your authenticity as true disciples of Christ will certainly assist you in transmitting the living Gospel in such a way that those entrusted to you can truly encounter the Lord and discover in the Catholic faith the unifying vision that Truth alone can provide.

From a more practical or pedagogical perspective, recent technological advances also pose numerous challenges for the world of education. The prolific use of artificial intelligence makes it increasingly difficult to evaluate the work of students, requiring educators to adapt their methods creatively to ensure the integral human formation of those in their care, even when this oftentimes entails more work for teachers. In this sense, we must be willing to invest generously in the education of future generations. It is crucial that young men and women learn to engage positively with new technologies, while at the same time truly developing their God-given skills and capacities to reason, to think critically and commit knowledge to memory, thus preparing them to shape responsibly the world to come (cf.  Magnifica Humanitas , 145).

Dear brothers and sisters, as you continue to carry out the Church’s evangelizing mission, it is my hope that students will always be able to find in your Institutions the sound doctrine (cf  2 Tim  4:3) entrusted to the Church that will serve as a true and lasting foundation not only for their lives, but for the future of the Nation. In thanking you for your presence here, and for your dedication to Catholic education, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing, which I willing extend to the people, the communities, and the Institutions you represent. Thank you very much.