STATISTICS ON THE CHURCH IN UKRAINE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 21, 2001 (VIS) - On the occasion of John Paul II's apostolic visit to Ukraine - his 94th trip outside Italy, due to take place from June 23 to 27 - some statistics on the Church in that country were published by the Central Statistical Office of the Church. They are from the year 2000.

Ukraine has a population of 50.1 million inhabitants of whom 5.5 million (11.08 percent) are Catholics. There are 3,676 parishes and 399 pastoral centers of other types. Bishops number 23 (as of May 16, 2001), priests 2,522, religious 1,075 and permanent deacons 14. There are 30 minor seminarians and 1,236 major seminarians.

A total of 1,267 students attend 20 Catholic centers of education, from nursery school to university level. There are also various charity and social centers belonging to the Church and/or run by priests or religious: 22 hospitals, 17 orphanages and kindergartens, 3 family consultancy and pro-life centers and 13 special education centers, as well as other institutions.

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