About Us

Because We Are Catholic

Faith, Education, Healthcare, Social Services & Community:

The Reach of the Catholic Church in Virginia

Catholic People & Catholic Work

8,382,993 total Virginia population

693,299 registered Catholics or 8.3% of Virginia population

8,259 employees of the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond (lay employees of chanceries and parishes, excluding priests and religious)

4,223 Catholic school employees

11,100 Catholic hospital employees

840 Catholic nursing home employees

311 Catholic Charities employees

24,733 total employees of Catholic entities in Virginia

Catholic Education

77 Catholic primary and high schools

26,561 Catholic school students

27% non-Catholic student population

25% minority student population

1,156 students who receive Education Improvement Scholarships

2,196 students with special needs

$315.7 Million – Amount Catholic schools save Commonwealth

4 Catholic colleges & universities

4,781 students at Catholic colleges

Catholic Health Care & Catholic Hospitals

75.4 million in charity care (free health care services for patients who are uninsured or underinsured, not otherwise captured)

$30.1 million in other community benefits (support of local safety net services such as free clinics, community organizations, mobile health services, health education support programs, etc.)

$53.5 million Medicaid shortfall (difference between what commonwealth of Virginia pays
hospitals for taking care of patients with Medicaid and the hospital’s actual cost of providing that care)

$159 Million – Total community benefit
(combination of the above)

Catholic Social Service Agencies

(Ministries include care for homeless, hungry, elderly, immigrants and refugees, foster care and adoption services, financial, housing and mental health counseling, job training, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

3 Catholic Charities

28 languages spoken 81,853 clients served

$26.9 Million – Total combined budget

Care for the Aged & Infirm

7 homes for the aged, chronically ill & invalids

1,725 assisted annually

$60.4 Million – Value of health care provided

Other Virginia Catholic Facts

  • 2 Dioceses (the Dioceses of Arlington and Richmond)
  • 2 Bishops, 1 Bishop Emeritus
  • 476 Priests (Diocesan, Religious, Extern, Retired) and 216 Permanent Deacons
  • 212 Catholic parishes and 7 missions
  • 272 Religious Sisters and 16 Religious Brothers
  • 13+ languages spoken at Catholic Masses, including: English, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, Ghanaian, Twi/Akan, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Gaelic, Tygrina and English with Indian dialect. Also American Sign Language.
  • Countless ministries in each of 219 parishes and missions to care for families and children, the hungry, sick, imprisoned, elderly, vulnerable and migrant.
  • 2 Catholic newspapers
  • 144,000 combined Catholic newspaper circulation
  • To order copies of Because We Are Catholic email office@vacatholic.org 
  • See and print this document

SOURCES: The Official Church Directory (P.J. Kenedy & Sons); The U.S. Census Bureau; The Diocese of Arlington; The Diocese of Richmond; Bon Secours Hospital System, Hampton Roads and Richmond; Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, Commonwealth Catholic Charities, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington; The Catholic Virginian; The Arlington Catholic Herald