The Economic Lives of Priests

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.