Pope urges religious orders to pray for new priests and nuns as their numbers continue to fall

Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is urging leaders of religious orders to work and pray harder for new priests and nuns to join. He says their futures are at risk as the numbers of men and women entering Catholic religious life are plummeting in parts of the world. The Jesuit pope met with representatives of a half-dozen religious orders celebrating assemblies this summer in Rome. The overall number of Catholic priests and nuns from Europe and parts of the Americas has been in a years-long free fall, as new members fail to make up for deaths and desertions. Growth continues in Asia and Africa.