The number of women religious in Ireland has halved in the last 20 years.
There were 9,031 women religious at the turn of the millennium, but it has declined to just 4,494, a decrease of 50.2%. The vast majority of the remaining nuns in the country are past normal retirement age.
This is according to the most recent figures from the 26 dioceses on the island of Ireland. Some of the figures relate to 2021 and so include the effects of the first year of covid.
However, the figures from the other dioceses relate to pre-Covid times and so are expected to drop further once updated statistics are released.
Commenting on the figures, Dr Bronagh Ann McShane told The Irish Catholic the future for female religious life in Ireland and elsewhere is “very uncertain”.
“We’re at a turning point,” she added.
