UNITED STATES

New Zealand Tablet, 25 April 1912, Page 55

UNITED STATES

POLISH CATHOLICS. tA golden volume of real history (says the Michigan Catholic ) was written for the Polish immigration of this country, when 367 Polish priests, one Polish Archbishop, and one Polish Bishop gathered at the Hotel Cavillac, Detroit, recently, to unite their forces, exchange ideas, and deliberate upon the wants and dangers that confront the Poles of America. Never in the history of America has such a number of Polish priests gathered together for such a noble purpose.

AN ESTIMATE OF CONVERTS. Some folks (remarks the Catholic A ews are inclined to regard as extravagant the estimate that about thirty thousand converts are received into the Church every year in this country. If - these sceptical ones would only pause to look into the claim they would readily see that, if anything, the estimate is too low. We learn from the True Voice , of Omaha that the number of converts baptised in the Catholic faith by the priests of the diocese of Omaha from October 15 1910, to October 15, 1911, was 402, Now, as there are nearly one hundred dioceses in the country, and as in a great many of them more converts are received than in Omaha, it is clear that it is not an exaggeration to say that more than 30,000 non-Catholics come into the Church here annually. • ; :

: ■ the largest DIOCESES. . The largest dioceses of the Church in the United States are: New York, with • 1,219,920 Catholics and 962; priests Chicago, with 1,150,000 -Catholics and 73priests Boston, with 900,000 Catholics and 680 priests;. Brooklyn- -’ with 700,000; Catholics and 448 priests Philadelphia, . with 525,000 BCatholics and 582 priests Pittsburg, with 475,000 Catholics and 495 priests; and St.- Louis, with 375,000 Catholics : and 528 priests. •_ . 1 .