Even in the Age of Google—when the answer to almost any general question can be found using a search engine—its often more interesting to tap into the wisdom of crowds to satisfy our curiosity. Since I’ve always been curious about the economic lives of Roman Catholic clergy, but never had both the access and audacity to ask a priest directly, I thought I’d open the questions up to the public. (Although our Catholic readers my find such questions peculiar and obvious, I suspect other Protestants are interested in knowing the answers.)
Here are a few of the money issues I was wondering about:
1. Do priests receive a monthly salary?
2. Is there pay structured by specific criteria (years of service, cost of living in a certain location, etc.)?
3. Are priests allowed to keep all compensation from outside work (e.g., teaching college classes, giving lectures)?
4. Do they receive a clothing allowance to cover the cost of required garments?
5. Are the priests in charge of the finances for their local parish or is that handled by the diocese?
6. Do the salary of chaplains go to the church or directly to the priest?
7. Do seminary students receive a stipend to cover living expenses?
8. Do priests tithe?
9. What type of arrangements are made for their retirement?
If you know the answer to these question please post them in the comments section. I’ll excerpt the best responses and include them in this post.
I’d also be interested in applying these questions to the religions leaders of other traditions (Eastern Orthodox priests, Orthodox Jewish rabbis), so please post the answer to any of those too.
UPDATE: Here are a few of the responses to my query:
Fr. Stephen
1. Yes. We get a salary. I take a monthly check. Others have a different pay schedule.
2. Yes, Pastors get a bit more than assistant pastors. Someone with 2 parishes gets a bit more than someone with just one. It depends on the diocese how this all works.
3. I think they can. Diocesan priests do not have a vow of poverty like order priests, but I might as well have.
4. I don’t get a clothing allowance, for personal clothing. Most parishes will have vestments for the priest, but I have always bought my own at personal expense for reasons of personal taste and fit.
5. Yes, the parish priest is in charge of parish finances within the limits set by the bishop. I make all contracts, determine pay of staff, sign their paychecks and my own (according to the scale set by the bishop.) I can give my staff a raise, but I can’t give myself one.
6. I have no idea what happens to the salary of a chaplain. I a sure he keeps at least some of it. Probably depends on arrangement made with the bishop.
7. I never got any money as a seminarian except what I earned in the summer and what I got from GI Bill. Most of the time I was stone broke.
8. Some priests tithe others don’t.
9. Pensions from diocese, Social Security (which we pay into), and personal savings and investments. Our diocese strongly encourages that we have IRA’s etc. Some end up with inherited money which is their’s to keep, if they are diocesan priests. For a priest in a religious order that money would go to the order and the order takes care of them in their old age.
John Perry
1. Yes, but it’s quite small IIRC. (For some reason the number $15000/yr is in my head, but don’t quote me, and in any case it probably varies.) It also seemed to me that the parishes covered certain “business” expenses like food and fuel. Of course this could vary from diocese to diocese and *maybe* from parish to parish but, unlike some Baptist churches, parishioners can’t take a priest from another parish by offering him a larger salary, because priests are assigned by bishops.
2. I don’t know.
3. As others have pointed out, it depends on whether the priest is in a religious community, in which case he almost certainly has to share, or in a diocese, in which case I’m quite sure he does not. However, even religious communities vary: I was once told that Congregations and Orders must take a vow of poverty, but Societies (like the Jesuits) need not. In fact Jesuits are very independent. (Someone *please* correct me if I’m wrong about this; I’m very interested in the question.)
4. Most liturgical vestments belong to the parish, and so they come from the parish budget. Sometimes people give vestments to priests directly, and a priest can buy his own. I believe that at my seminary students who served in liturgical roles had to buy their own cassocks.
5. What I haven’t seen people point out is that parish councils are often consulted about the budget these days, and in many cases the priest defers to them. I sat in on such a meeting between priest and council.
6. No comment.
7. I didn’t receive anything beyond tuition, room and board, and travel; during my summer pastoral assignment I received a modest stipend. (I believe it was $3000 for the entire summer.) Some dioceses not only gave their students living allowances, but bought their students *cars*. Students of religious orders are part of the community and are usually entirely dependent on the community.
I believe that there are some seminaries that accept men who are not yet attached to a diocese, although they must find a diocese before they receive ordination. Obviously these men pay their own way.
8. Beats me. I didn’t have the money, but I did try to support Catholic charities whenever I had a dime to spare.
9. Some dioceses collect an occasional offering to help pay for priests’ retirement, and there is an annual religious retirement fund for priests, brothers, and sisters who are not parts of dioceses.
Harrison Ayre
1) Yes. In most cases they get 2 pay cheques a month.
2)No. Priests get paid the same regardless of how long they’ve been a priest for.
3)That depends on the Diocese. To my knowledge, it is generally no, since it is work, again, for the Diocese. For example, the Dean of Theology at my Seminary gets paid the same as any of the Diocesan Clergy. However, if they are doing some guest speaker work in a parish for something like a parish mission, they tend to be able to keep that money for themselves.
4)Usually vestments are covered by the parish. If a priest desires to own his own vestments, he has to pay for them himself. There is no clothing allowance in my diocese, but again, I believe this is ultimately a diocesan policy and so can be different in each diocese.
5)The priest who is the pastor of the parish is in charge of the finances. He works with the diocese in so far that the diocese usually requires certain information on parish finances on a yearly basis.
6)That depends again. For example, military chaplains get the entire salary up front (which in Canada is quite a lot!!). It depends on the role and state of the clergy. If they are a clergy convert from Anglicanism and seek holy orders, they tend to get chaplaincy work because it pays well enough to support a family.
7)For seminarians, this again depends on diocesan policy. Room & Board and Tuition are always covered by the Diocese for Major Seminary students (theology). It varies from diocese to diocese re: Minor Seminary students. Outside of that, some Dioceses do give their seminarians money to help them get by each month, while others require them to simply figure out the money thing on their own. Most dioceses will cover the cost of books, but not all.
8)That is up to the priest. I know some who do. I know some who don’t.
9)That again depends on the diocese. Most dioceses have retirement houses for their clergy. There is also a priest retirement fund which the priests pay into for their retirement.
Joe DeVet
The answers to these questions depend on whether a priest is a “secular” priest (affiliated directly to a diocese) or an “order” priest, such as a Jesuit, Benedictine, Dominican, etc. In general, secular priests manage their own money, and order priests, taking the vow of poverty, hold all possessions in common with their religious community. Thus, in general, the order priests would turn over any stipends, etc to the order, and spend money only via permission from their superiors.
Regarding the diocesan priests:
1. Yes, they receive salaries.
2. Yes, according to responsibilities, particular jobs they may have. I have to think it varies according to local economic conditions, such as cost of living, etc.
3. In general, yes.
4. Order priests, yes; secular priests are generally responsible for their own. Liturgical vestments are owned by the church.
5. The pastor of a parish is responsible for the parish’s finances. However, the diocese is responsible for oversight. Technically, I believe that dioceses own all parish assets.
6. Again, order priests’ chaplaincy stipends go to the order, and generally secular priests receive compensation themselves.
7. I believe this is a similar situation to all college students, in that it depends on individual financial aid.
8. Yes and no.
9. Order priests are taken care of by their order; diocesan priests in general have a pension and social security.
Joseph
Eastern Orthodox impression:
1. Yes, based on parish council decision and sometimes the bishop’s thinking.
2. Very dependent on Orthodox jurisdiction.
3. Normally, yes. With the blessing of the bishop.
4. Sometimes a parish council item.
5. Part chancery, part parish council, part priest.
6. A good question. At first blush I say direct to the priest.
7. They are often sponsored by parishes, get work study, and work during the summer.
8. Ours does.
9. Dealt with by the specific diocese to some degree and by the jurisdiction at a larger level.
October 3rd, 2009 | 1:09 am
When I was a deacon in a Reformed Church (in the Dutch Reformed tradition) – I am now a Catholic – we paid our pastor a salary in the low range of that of men with comparable education. He owned his own house but I think there were other perqs – allowances for this, that, and the other thing. I think he did tithe, himself, though could not swear to it.
October 3rd, 2009 | 1:15 am
Eastern Orthodox impression:
1. Yes, based on parish council decision and sometimes the bishop’s thinking.
2. Very dependent on Orthodox jurisdiction.
3. Normally, yes. With the blessing of the bishop.
4. Sometimes a parish council item.
5. Part chancery, part parish council, part priest.
6. A good question. At first blush I say direct to the priest.
7. They are often sponsored by parishes, get work study, and work during the summer.
8. Ours does.
9. Dealt with by the specific diocese to some degree and by the jurisdiction at a larger level.
October 3rd, 2009 | 7:51 am
The answers to these questions depend on whether a priest is a “secular” priest (affiliated directly to a diocese) or an “order” priest, such as a Jesuit, Benedictine, Dominican, etc. In general, secular priests manage their own money, and order priests, taking the vow of poverty, hold all possessions in common with their religious community. Thus, in general, the order priests would turn over any stipends, etc to the order, and spend money only via permission from their superiors.
Regarding the diocesan priests:
1. Yes, they receive salaries.
2. Yes, according to responsibilities, particular jobs they may have. I have to think it varies according to local economic conditions, such as cost of living, etc.
3. In general, yes.
4. Order priests, yes; secular priests are generally responsible for their own. Liturgical vestments are owned by the church.
5. The pastor of a parish is responsible for the parish’s finances. However, the diocese is responsible for oversight. Technically, I believe that dioceses own all parish assets.
6. Again, order priests’ chaplaincy stipends go to the order, and generally secular priests receive compensation themselves.
7. I believe this is a similar situation to all college students, in that it depends on individual financial aid.
8. Yes and no.
9. Order priests are taken care of by their order; diocesan priests in general have a pension and social security.
October 3rd, 2009 | 9:49 am
Correct me, someone, if I’m wrong. I was under the impression that the Catholic Church does not require tithing of anyone, including priests.
October 3rd, 2009 | 10:10 am
I am presuming you are talking about Diocesan Clergy. Clergy in an order are different.
1) Yes. In most cases they get 2 pay cheques a month.
2)No. Priests get paid the same regardless of how long they’ve been a priest for.
3)That depends on the Diocese. To my knowledge, it is generally no, since it is work, again, for the Diocese. For example, the Dean of Theology at my Seminary gets paid the same as any of the Diocesan Clergy. However, if they are doing some guest speaker work in a parish for something like a parish mission, they tend to be able to keep that money for themselves.
4)Usually vestments are covered by the parish. If a priest desires to own his own vestments, he has to pay for them himself. There is no clothing allowance in my diocese, but again, I believe this is ultimately a diocesan policy and so can be different in each diocese.
5)The priest who is the pastor of the parish is in charge of the finances. He works with the diocese in so far that the diocese usually requires certain information on parish finances on a yearly basis.
6)That depends again. For example, military chaplains get the entire salary up front (which in Canada is quite a lot!!). It depends on the role and state of the clergy. If they are a clergy convert from Anglicanism and seek holy orders, they tend to get chaplaincy work because it pays well enough to support a family.
7)For seminarians, this again depends on diocesan policy. Room & Board and Tuition are always covered by the Diocese for Major Seminary students (theology). It varies from diocese to diocese re: Minor Seminary students. Outside of that, some Dioceses do give their seminarians money to help them get by each month, while others require them to simply figure out the money thing on their own. Most dioceses will cover the cost of books, but not all.
8)That is up to the priest. I know some who do. I know some who don’t.
9)That again depends on the diocese. Most dioceses have retirement houses for their clergy. There is also a priest retirement fund which the priests pay into for their retirement.
October 3rd, 2009 | 2:21 pm
I was a Catholic seminarian for a diocese in the Eastern US a little more than a decade ago. I’ll only answer the questions I know.
1. Yes, but it’s quite small IIRC. (For some reason the number $15000/yr is in my head, but don’t quote me, and in any case it probably varies.) It also seemed to me that the parishes covered certain “business” expenses like food and fuel. Of course this could vary from diocese to diocese and *maybe* from parish to parish but, unlike some Baptist churches, parishioners can’t take a priest from another parish by offering him a larger salary, because priests are assigned by bishops.
2. I don’t know.
3. As others have pointed out, it depends on whether the priest is in a religious community, in which case he almost certainly has to share, or in a diocese, in which case I’m quite sure he does not. However, even religious communities vary: I was once told that Congregations and Orders must take a vow of poverty, but Societies (like the Jesuits) need not. In fact Jesuits are very independent. (Someone *please* correct me if I’m wrong about this; I’m very interested in the question.)
4. Most liturgical vestments belong to the parish, and so they come from the parish budget. Sometimes people give vestments to priests directly, and a priest can buy his own. I believe that at my seminary students who served in liturgical roles had to buy their own cassocks.
5. What I haven’t seen people point out is that parish councils are often consulted about the budget these days, and in many cases the priest defers to them. I sat in on such a meeting between priest and council.
6. No comment.
7. I didn’t receive anything beyond tuition, room and board, and travel; during my summer pastoral assignment I received a modest stipend. (I believe it was $3000 for the entire summer.) Some dioceses not only gave their students living allowances, but bought their students *cars*. Students of religious orders are part of the community and are usually entirely dependent on the community.
I believe that there are some seminaries that accept men who are not yet attached to a diocese, although they must find a diocese before they receive ordination. Obviously these men pay their own way.
8. Beats me. I didn’t have the money, but I did try to support Catholic charities whenever I had a dime to spare.
9. Some dioceses collect an occasional offering to help pay for priests’ retirement, and there is an annual religious retirement fund for priests, brothers, and sisters who are not parts of dioceses.
October 3rd, 2009 | 2:41 pm
Here it is: Holy Apostles Seminary in Connecticut does not require affiliation with an order or diocese for admission. http://www.holyapostles.edu/link.php?action=expand&ID=56
October 3rd, 2009 | 2:51 pm
A Jesuit friend told me that they get a sort of salary (he’s in the UK) and that the Jesuits in the US even have credit cards. He does own personal possessions and told me once when I asked about the vow of poverty that I was confusing poverty with being poor :)
October 3rd, 2009 | 4:00 pm
1. Yes. We get a salary. I take a monthly check. Others have a different pay schedule.
2. Yes, Pastors get a bit more than assistant pastors. Someone with 2 parishes gets a bit more than someone with just one. It depends on the diocese how this all works.
3. I think they can. Diocesan priests do not have a vow of poverty like order priests, but I might as well have.
4. I don’t get a clothing allowance, for personal clothing. Most parishes will have vestments for the priest, but I have always bought my own at personal expense for reasons of personal taste and fit.
5. Yes, the parish priest is in charge of parish finances within the limits set by the bishop. I make all contracts, determine pay of staff, sign their paychecks and my own (according to the scale set by the bishop.) I can give my staff a raise, but I can’t give myself one.
6. I have no idea what happens to the salary of a chaplain. I a sure he keeps at least some of it. Probably depends on arrangement made with the bishop.
7. I never got any money as a seminarian except what I earned in the summer and what I got from GI Bill. Most of the time I was stone broke.
8. Some priests tithe others don’t.
9. Pensions from diocese, Social Security (which we pay into), and personal savings and investments. Our diocese strongly encourages that we have IRA’s etc. Some end up with inherited money which is their’s to keep, if they are diocesan priests. For a priest in a religious order that money would go to the order and the order takes care of them in their old age.
October 3rd, 2009 | 8:32 pm
Here’s the Canadian (at least Pembroke Diocese) answers to your questions.
1. All priest receive a salary which is set by the Bishop after consultation with the Council of Priests
2. We all receive the same compensation
3. Negotiated with the Bishop on a case by case basis – but usually the answer is yes
4. No clothing allowance
5. Priest (pastor) is responsible for the finances of the parish, in consultation with the parish property/finance committee as is described in the Code of Canon Law
6. See #3
7. Our diocese has always paid for the costs of education for our seminarians (paid to the seminary), but they do not receive a living allowance. They are free to work during the summer as do most university students and they can use these funds to cover personal spending
8. Some yes, some no, but I do not know of a priest that does not participate financially in supporting his parish
9. We have a separate foundation that is administered by an elected committee whose membership is chosen from the priests. Pension levels are set by this committee and then ratified at an annual general meeting. The trick is getting the Bishop to let you retire while your still living on this side of the green grass.
Bottom line – if you want to get rich or live a high class lifestyle – don’t be a priest. Of course there is that old line that says “the religious priests take a vow of poverty but it’s the diocesan priests who live it” (with apologies to my “religious brothers”. Either way, the sign that hangs in my office sums up the attitude of the majority of priests “The pay’s no hell but the retirement benefits are out of this world.”
Fr. Tim
October 5th, 2009 | 10:36 am
Craig Payne:
(on whether Catholic Church requires tithing of anyone)
I’ve never heard that the Catholic Church requires tithing, and I did a search on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (interesting document) and found nothing but a reference in passing to the Old Testament norm, but no requirement of tithing by Catholics.
There is a duty to be charitable to the poor and to support the financial needs of the Church, and we are asked to give from our substance, not just our excess. But it is not common for there to be any “quantitative” measure placed on these duties.
However, some Catholic leaders do encourage tithing as a spiritual exercise, and as a rule of thumb, say that 5% should go to direct support of Church entities (eg, parish and diocese) and the other 5% to charitable giving of one’s choice. A few years back, my wife and I decided to tithe this way, and the decision has brought us many blessings.
October 5th, 2009 | 9:31 pm
Am I telling a tale out of school here? As a somewhat impoverished editorial secretary at Image Books in the early 80s, I recall Fr. Andrew G. coming to the office. At the time his novels were best sellers (or, as one envious novelist and former priest called them, “best-smellers.”) Always in clerical garb, the cut of his jacket and pants were of at least Brooks Brothers grade (and material). (See the covers of any Randall Robinson book for an idea.) And he always stayed at first-class midtown Manhattan hotels I was told. So, I guess it depends on how well your books sell… Seriously, I consider Holy Orders as the impossible profession. Priests have my gratitude and admiration — foibles and all. And here in the Archdiocese of Detroit, it is especially impossible at the moment…
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