The figures highlight a general long-term decline: intakes have swung between 9 and 21 over the past decade, with no consistent upward trend.
Just 13 men have begun studies for the priesthood for Irish dioceses this year - a fall from 21 entrants in 2024.
The new seminarians are starting their introductory year in Maynooth, Dundalk, Spain and France, bringing the overall number of men training for the diocesan priesthood to 77 nationwide.
The figures highlight a general long-term decline: intakes have swung between 9 and 21 over the past decade, with no consistent upward trend.
Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, chair of the Bishops’ Council for Vocations, warned that the Church must not become "complacent", saying: “Without the priest there is no Eucharist, and without the Eucharist there is no Church.”
Maynooth’s St Patrick’s College remains the national seminary.
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