The Catholic Church in Mexico

Out of 108,426,000 inhabitants (in an area of 1,958,201 sq. km. [756,051 sq. miles]), Mexico has 99,635,000 Catholics (91.89%).  The Church has 93 dioceses and other ecclesiastical districts, 6,744 parishes and 7,169 pastoral centers, with 163 bishops, 16,234 priests, 6,495 seminarians and 4,524 postulants, 30,023 religious, 505 consecrated laypersons, 25,846 lay missionaries and 295,462 catechists.  Receiving Catholic education, from kindergarten to higher education, are 1,856,735 pupils and students in 8,991 institutions, plus 5,082 other support structures.  The Church runs 257 hospitals and 1,602 dispensaries, 8 leprosaria, 372 retreat houses, 329 orphanages and day-schools, 2,134 family and respect-life centers, and 340 other specialized social centers.

The 2012 edition of the Pontifical Yearbook recently reported a decrease in the number of Catholics in Latin America.  On March 10, the Central Bureau of Statistics of the Catholic Church spoke about “non-negligible variations”.

For years now the Catholic Church has been exposed to the violence of the drug cartels:  many priests and seminarians have been assassinated in attacks on their vehicles.

You can also read :
Visit of Benedict XVI to Mexico, March 23-26, 2012