STATISTICS ON THE CHURCH IN SLOVAKIA

VATICAN CITY, SEP 4, 2003 (VIS) - On the occasion of the upcoming apostolic trip to the Slovak Republic from September 11 to 14, we present some statistics on the Catholic Church in the country as of December 2001.

Slovakia has 5,400,000 inhabitants of whom 4,034,000 - or 75 percent of the total population - are Catholic. Currently, there are 20 bishops, 2,474 priests, 3,075 religious and 1,092 seminarians.

The Catholic Church in Slovakia runs 100 primary schools, 48 middle and secondary schools and 2 high schools and universities, attended by more than 37,500 students. In terms of social and charitable centers owned or run by the Church or religious orders, there are 2 hospitals, 8 clinics, 20 rest homes for the elderly, invalid or handicapped, 18 orphanages, 2 family counseling centers as well as pro-life centers and 24 educational and rehabilitation centers.

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