Located in the U.S. capital, the Archdiocese reflects the vibrant diversity of the Catholic Church in America

• Active and Thriving: More than 655,000 Catholics

• Schools: 26,000 students in 93 Catholic schools

• Diversity: Mass is celebrated in more than 20 languages weekly

• Vocations: 85 seminarians studying to become priests for the archdiocese

• Service: Catholic Charities serves more than 143,000 people annually

Archdiocese of Washington Facts 

• More than 655,000 parishioners who worship in 139 parishes in Washington, D.C. and five Maryland counties: Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s

• Established in 1939 by Pope Pius XII

• Total priests serving the Archdiocese of Washington: 324

• Total number of seminarians: 85

• Washington, DC, is home to national entities such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and is the location of three Catholic universities: The Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, and Trinity University

• Hosted Pope John Paul II in 1979, Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, and Pope Francis in 2015

Catholic Education in the Archdiocese 

• Total number of students in Catholic schools: approximately 26,000

• Number of schools: 93, including early childhood centers, elementary and high schools

• Awards more than $6 million in tuition assistance to Catholic school students each year

• Success: 99 percent of Catholic high school students graduate and 97 percent of Catholic high school graduates go on to college

• Approximately 22,000 students in parish elementary and high school religious education programs

Diversity 

• Mass is celebrated in more than 20 languages each week, including Spanish, French, Italian, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Portuguese, Polish, Haitian Creole, American Sign Language, and more

• Nearly 270,000 Catholics of Hispanic descent (41 percent of the Catholics in archdiocese)

• Spanish-language Masses celebrated at 38 locations throughout the archdiocese

• Approximately 100,000 Catholics of African and Caribbean descent (15 percent of Catholics in archdiocese)

Social Service 

• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington serves more than 143,000 people annually regardless of religion

• Catholic Charities served 2.5 million meals last year to those in need in the Washington, D.C. and Maryland region

• 1,500 beds provided to homeless men, women and children each night

• More than 7,000 people received civil and immigration legal services last year

• Providence Hospital, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington and Holy Cross Hospitals in Silver Spring and Germantown, provide millions of dollars of charitable care each year

• Victory Housing provides affordable housing and related social services to more than 2,700 low- and moderate-income senior citizens and families in Washington, DC and Maryland

• St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families has cared for at-risk young mothers and vulnerable children for nearly 160 years