Priest Morale
September 13, 2026
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~
Every June the priests of the Archdiocese of Seattle (priests of Western Washington) gather at Ocean Shores for four nights and three days for what is called “Priest Days.” There is always a guest speaker who speaks to some aspect of our ministry. Last June the topic was priest morale.
Partners in the Gospel, the Archdiocesan plan to reorganize the Church in Western Washington, was launched in part to ultimately help parish priests have a saner, healthier life. The trick for our parish priests, especially our pastors, is to survive Partners in the Gospel, consolidate our parishes, and get to that saner and healthier life that hopefully lays ahead.
The speaker at our gathering was Deacon Tim Lynch, who works at the St. John Vianney Center in Philadelphia. The St. John Vianney Center bills itself as the nation’s premier behavioral health center designed to serve clergy and consecrated religious. If I remember this right, it has 300 beds, and at any given time they are filled with priests and religious. Mental health struggles for priests is a really big deal. Deacon Tim did a marvelous job coaching and counseling us through many of our ministerial and mental health challenges.
Having Deacon Tim Lynch speak about our mental health challenges was an explicit acknowledgment by Archbishop Etienne about the state of our morale. Since Partners launched at the parish level in 2024, I’ve seen priest morale plunge. Honestly, it wasn’t high to begin with.
Priests are essential. Without them the Church ceases to exist. Jesus Christ founded the Church on twelve priests, for better or for worse. Without priests there is no Mass, Confessions, Last Rites, or authority to teach, lead, and unite. In short, the Church simply collapses. Our salvation has been riding on the backs of priests for 2,000 years. Some of them have been saints, some have been devils, yet the vast majority of them have been flawed men doing their best.
As a priest, I can attest to the gratuitous nature of the priesthood—that Christ would invite me and others to serve Him in a way that is simply beyond our natures, and certainly beyond anything we deserve or will ever earn. In a world where self-gratification is everyone’s goal, purpose and meaning disappear and depression arises. I can’t imagine a more purpose-driven life than that of a priest. To be able to give my life completely throughout the day to Christ and His Kingdom is an amazing privilege. It also comes at a high personal cost.
As you know, there are not enough of us to meet the need. The need to have enough priests to save all the people living on earth at any given time has never been met, nor will it ever be. The need to meet the laity’s expectations to maintain what they have come to expect isn’t being met either, and that is a source of disillusionment for the laity. It is also a source of disillusionment for the priests who are trying to meet those unrealistic expectations with a profoundly dwindling number of home-grown priests who can effectively pastor parishes. Over the last three years, the Archdiocese of Seattle ordained four priests and buried twenty-two. Over the next four years we will ordain 6 priests, while another 12-14 will be eligible to retire from parish ministry; that doesn’t include the roughly one priest per year who unexpectedly bows out due to nervous breakdown, physical health, or death. Maintaining the status quo vis-à-vis our priests is simply not realistic or ethical.
What can be done? Glad you asked.
1. Be a saint. That’s everybody’s job, including yours.
2. Pray and do penance for priests. We are sinners just like you, but unlike you, we are singled out to stand in front of you as Christ. Your prayers and penances for us do far more good than any of us can realize in this life. Here’s a novena you can pray for priests https://www.praymorenovenas.com/novena-for-priests. Priesthood Sunday is on September 27. Perhaps you can pray it in anticipation of that day.
3. Be willing to give up or change an expectation you have of how things are done now. That might include: the possibility of your preferred Mass time and location changing; your ministry or group having to combine with another ministry or group of the same nature and meet at a different location and time; the pastor or vicar not being to attend you or the parish’s important gathering; or something simply coming to an end for lack of leadership or human resources.
4. Stop pinning so much on the charisma or homilies of priests. Most people are neither charismatic nor good public speakers; and delivering good homilies isn’t something most good public speakers can do. Priests are “most people” just like you. Adjust your expectations and grant them the mercy you want God to give you.
5. “Dance with the one you brought.” Be grateful for the priest you have, not resentful of not having the one you imagine (he’s flawed too).
Here is an article that I had in a pastor’s column many years ago. It is about burnout amongst Protestant pastors. Comparing Protestant pastors (married, etc.) with Catholic priests is a bit of an apples to oranges thing, yet there is still a lot in common. In reading through it, you can see how much stress pastoring has on a wife and family. Christ knew what he was doing when he established celibacy as the norm for priests.
May God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
Protestant Pastor Burnout by the Numbers
According to the New York Times (August 1, 2010) "Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could."
· 13% of active pastors are divorced.
· 23% have been fired or pressured to resign at least once in their careers.
· 25% don't know where to turn when they have a family or personal conflict or issue.
· 25% of pastors' wives see their husband's work schedule as a source of conflict.
· 33% felt burned out within their first five years of ministry.
· 33% say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
· 40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
· 45% of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout.
· 45% of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.
· 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
· 52% of pastors say they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family's well-being and health.
· 56% of pastors' wives say that they have no close friends.
· 57% would leave the pastorate if they had somewhere else to go or some other vocation they could do.
· 70% don't have any close friends.
· 75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation.
· 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
· 80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
· 90% feel unqualified or poorly prepared for ministry.
· 90% work more than 50 hours a week.
· 94% feel under pressure to have a perfect family.
· 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure. [2010 statistic]
· One third of Protestant Pastors did not return after the Covid 19 shutdown.
The hardest thing about these numbers is that they only tell half the story. The other half is that congregations don't know or understand the nature of pastoral stress. And when a pastor breaks down or has a moral failure, congregations, for lack of a better word, "kick the pastor to the curb."
Whether you are a pastor or a congregation member, I hope these clergy burnout statistics help clarify the problem. And more importantly, I hope they help you focus your ministry to pastors.
