There are approximately 42,000 women religious (nuns and sisters) in the United States today. In 1965, there were 180,000. That's a 77% decline in 60 years.
The sisters who remain are aging. The average age of a woman religious in America is 74. Many convents built for 40 sisters now house 8 or 10, in buildings that are expensive to heat, repair, and maintain.
This is a quiet crisis — and the faithful need to know about it.
Why Convents Struggle Financially
- Declining vocations — fewer sisters means fewer working-age members to generate income
- Aging infrastructure — buildings from the 1950s and 60s need major repairs: roofs, plumbing, HVAC, accessibility upgrades
- Healthcare costs — elderly sisters require increasing medical care, and most religious communities have limited retirement funds
- Mission dependence — many sisters took vows of poverty and served in schools, hospitals, and parishes for minimal stipends
What Do Sisters Actually Do?
The contribution of women religious to American Catholic life is immeasurable:
- Education: Sisters built and staffed the Catholic school system — the largest private school network in the country
- Healthcare: Religious sisters founded more than 600 hospitals in the United States
- Social services: Soup kitchens, homeless shelters, pregnancy centers, immigrant aid
- Contemplative prayer: Cloistered communities — Carmelites, Poor Clares, Visitation nuns — dedicate their lives to prayer for the Church and the world
How to Help
1. Direct Giving
Many convents accept donations directly. The Retirement Fund for Religious (managed by the National Religious Retirement Office) is the largest organized effort, distributing over $25 million annually to religious communities.
2. Buy What They Make
Many religious communities produce goods to support themselves: altar breads, candles, vestments, greeting cards, and food products. Purchasing directly from them is tangible support.
3. Support Through Sanctus Mission
Several of the missions profiled on Sanctus Mission are convents and monasteries in need. When you buy Sanctus Coffee or shop the marketplace, you can direct your impact to a specific community of sisters.
4. Volunteer Your Time
Convents often need help with maintenance, technology, transportation, and administrative tasks. A few hours a month can make an enormous difference for a community that's stretched thin.
The Faithful Response
These women gave their lives to the Church. They taught our parents and grandparents. They nursed the sick before Medicare existed. They prayed — and continue to pray — for a world that has largely forgotten them.
They deserve to age with dignity, in the communities they built, fulfilling the vows they took.
