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NOTE
PERSONNEL OF THE NEW ROCHELLE PROVINCE:
INCREASE AND DECREASE
1946-1988
Michael Mendl
This study investigates the statistical history of the personnel of the New
Rochelle Province of the Salesians of Saint John Bosco from 1946 to 1988. Its
purpose is to present and evaluate data about the so-called vocation crisis of the
post-Vatican II years. The data were first presented as part of the documentation
for the 1989 provincial chapter; at that time I began with 1952, but I now cover
the entire postwar period.
How many confreres have we had in our province, and what has happened to
them over the years? What changes, if any, can be discerned in the patterns? What
conclusions can be drawn from the information?
1. The New Rochelle Province
The province of New Rochelle (New York), designated as Stati Uniti-Est
(SUE) in the official documents of the Salesian Society, is one of two Salesian
provinces in the United States of America. Salesian work in the United States began
at San Francisco on March 11, 1897. 1 A North American province was canonically
erected with headquarters at San Francisco on January 20, 1902. It comprised four
houses - all national parishes for immigrants - two in that city and one each in
Oakland (California) and New York.2
1 On earlier attempts to bring Don Bosco's sons to California and their eventual arrival,
see M. RIBOTTA, The Road Not Taken - The Salesians' Circuitous Road to North America,
in "Journal of Salesian Studies" (Berkeley, Calif.: Institute of Salesian Studies) 1 no. 2 (Fall
1990), pp. 47-67.
2 T. VALSECCHI, Origine e sviluppo delle ispettorie salesiane. Serie cronologica fino al-
I'anno 1903, RSS 2 (1983), 266-267, 272; J. HURLEY, ed., Service for the Young (n.p., 1972),
pp. 2-4. The beginning of Salesian work in New York is discussed by P. PASCUCCI, Once upon
a Time in Old New York, in "Journal of Salesian Studies", 3 no. 1 (Spring 1992), pp. 1-25.

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226 Michael Mendl
Province headquarters subsequently were moved 3,000 miles eastward to New
York City, and in 1919 to New Rochelle, just north of New York. Salesian work
expanded sufficiently, and the United States was so vast, that it became expedient
to divide the North American province. On May 28, 1926, the province of San
Francisco was established with six houses (five parishes and one schoo1).3
The eastern province had nine houses in 1926 (seven parishes and two schools).4
One of the parishes was located at Toronto, Ontario (Canada).5 Its boundaries
remained essentially the same for sixty-two years: eastern Canada, the United States
east of the Mississippi River plus the state of Louisiana. When the Salesians went
to Puerto Rico in 1947, that unincorporated American territory was made part
of the New Rochelle Province; with the island's taking on commonwealth status
(1952), the Salesian work was reassigned to the Mexican-Antilles province (1953).
Beginning in 1971 the New Rochelle province undertook some parish work in the
Bahamas, which continues. In mid-1988 the Salesians of the New Rochelle prov-
ince were established in three Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Quebec, and
Ontario); in seven states (Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Louisiana,
Alabama, and Florida); and on Grand Bahama Island.6
On August 15, 1988, eastern Canada became an independent vice province,
headquartered at Sherbrooke (Quebec). The new vice province was made up of
7 parishes, 2 schools, and the provincial residence. The New Rochelle Province
remained with 18 parishes, 8 schools, a college seminary, a seminary residence, 2
boys' clubs, 3 retreat houses, a publishing house, a mission procure, a residence for
sick confreres, and the provincial residence.7
2. Methodology
Following WorId War II, the American Church in general experienced a very
impressive numerical growth in vocations.8 The Salesians in particular experienced
such growth, plus the immigration of quite a few confreres from Italy and from
3 T. VALSECCHI, Le ispettorie salesiane. Serie cronologica dall'anno 1904 al 1926, in RSS
3 (1984), pp. 119, 121-122.
4 Ibid., p. 124; Hurley, pp. 7-10.
5 Hurley, pp. 14-15.
6 North American Directory 1988-1989 (New Rochelle, 1988), pp. 24-48.
7 Ibid. passim.
8 It has been suggested that the decline in priestly vocations in the D.S. actually began in
1942; in that year the ratio of priests to total Catholics peaked at one priest for every 617
Catholics. "Never before, or since, would the American Catholic community have so many
priests available." Of course, no one noticed that ratio as long as seminaries were full and new
priests were being ordained in large numbers (1945-1967). The total number of priests in the
D.S. peaked at 59,892 in 1967. See Dennis CASTILLO, The Origin of the Priest Shortage:
1942-1962, in "America" 167 (1992), 302-304; the quotation is from p. 303.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 227
Central Europe following the Communist takeovers in nations such as Lithuania,
Poland, and Yugoslavia.
I will present and analyze data on the province's personnel for the period
1946-1988. I end with January 1, 1988, eight and a half months before eastern
Canada's separation from the New Rochelle Province (and about a year before the
study was originally done). I begin with January 1, 1946, less than five months after
the end of World War n, because the province's make-up may be presumed at that
date still to reflect the war situation.
As I said in the opening paragraph, the study originally began with 1952.
Thence it proceeded to 1988 by looking at the province's situation every nine years.
I take my data from various Salesian elencos, or international directories,
particularly those of 1946, 1952, 1961, 1970, 1979, and 1988.9 Obviously such data
are not comprehensive; but for a good overview, every single confrere and every
single year do not have to be reviewed. These six years provide a reasonable
overview of the growth and decline of the province's numbers at short intervals. It
is not just numbers that I look at, however. I have looked at and followed every
individual confrere through these six directories, achieving a longitudinal study of
the province's men.
At various times Salesians from other provinces have come to the United States
for studies, particularly at the house of philosophy in Newton (New Jersey) and the
theological residence at Columbus (Ohio). I do not count them as members of the
province in the study since their presence here was meant to be, and was, a transient
one. I do count members of the province temporarily outside it (e.g., for theological
studies in Italy). Confreres on temporary loan from other provinces, but with a kind
of permanence in the province (e.g., for pastoral work in a national parish) are also
counted.
3. Data and Observations: 1946-1951
My use of the 1946 elenco, in contrast to the later editions, had to be refined by
consultation with archival materials because the home province (New Rochelle or
San Francisco) of the confreres in formation at Newton was not indicated. During
World War n novices, students of philosophy, students of theology, and coadjutors
in initial formation made their home in that rural town of northwestern New Jersey
(population 1950: 5,781).
In January 1946 the Province of New Rochelle had 148 Salesians: 10
9 Elenco generale della Societa di san Francesco di Sales, published annually, non-com-
mercially, at Turin until 1965, and at Rome since then.
10 A "cleric" or "clerical brother" is a novice or professed member preparing for the
priesthood (including deacons). A "coadjutor" or "coadjutor brother" is a novice or professed

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228 Michael Mendl
Table 1: Personnel of the Province 1946
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
4
1
5
27
6
33
20
19
71
110
51
26
71
148
34.4
17.6
48.0
%
3.4
22.3
74.3
100 11
Clerical members were five-sixths of the province. Almost three-quarters of
the members were perpetually professed, and more than a fifth were temporarily
professed; novices were proportionally negligible. Six of the priests, canonically
attached to the provincial house, were serving outside the province as military
chaplains.
Six years later (January 1952), 17.6% of those 148 men no longer belonged to
the province:
Table 2: Losses 1946-1951
Number
Percentage
Died
Transferred 12
Left the Society 13
Remained
8
5.4%0
2
82.4
16
10.8
122
82.4
member intending to remain a lay member. "Clerical members" include both clerics and
priests.
11 In some tables percentages may not add to exactly 100% because of rounding to the
nearest decimal.
12 E.g., by returning to their province of origin or going to the missions. This study takes
no further note of them unless they permanently returned.
13 Except for Section IX, this study takes no note of whether the men who left might
have joined a diocese or another congregation.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 229
More particularly, this is what happened to 1946's 148 Salesians by 1952:
cler. novices
coad. novices
cler. temp.
coad. temp.
cler. perp.
coad. perp.
priests
Table 3: Change 1946-1951
status 1946
number p.p. trans. ord.
status 1952
died
left
rem'd
%14
4
1
1
27
11 16
9
6
6
20
19
19
1
1
71
1
7
2
2 15 50.0
1 100.0
7
20 70.4
6 100.0
1
19 95.0
17 89.5
6
57 80.3
148 19
2
28
8
16 122 82.4
The 16 of 1946's confreres who left the Society divided thus:
Table 4: Departures 1946-1951
Number
% of departures
novices
clerics
temporarily professed
clerics
perpetually professed
clerics
priests
12.5%
2
43.8
7
1
6.3
6
37.5
clerical members
lay members
16
100.0
0
0.0
14 Status: perpetually professed (in addition to those ordained), transferred to another
province, ordained priests, died, left the Society, remained in the province, percentage of group
remaining.
15 Both clerical novices who remained in the Society as of 1952 were in their second tri-
ennial vows, one as a cleric, the other as a coadjutor.
16 One 1946 cleric in temporary vows made his perpetual profession as a coadjutor.

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230 Michael Mendl
It seems somewhat astounding that all the confreres who left were clerics; in
fact, the coadjutors gained 2 confreres from the ranks of 1946's clerics, as mentioned
in the notes to Table 3.
Three of the priests who left had been military chaplains. Aside from that, one
might be surprised at the high ratio (44%) of those who left the Society although
they had made their perpetual profession.
In the six years from 1946 through 1951, the province lost 26 confreres from
death, transfer, and departure from the Society. Yet its size increased by almost
80% in those same years, as it received 118 new members.
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
Table 5: Vocations 1946-1951
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
9
4
49
14
5
12
25
63
30
25
Total
% of new
13
11.0
63
53.4
42
35.4
118
The number of confreres who came to New Rochelle from other provinces
seems extraordinary: 51 of them, or 43.2% of the new membership of the province.
Nine were confreres fleeing Communist oppression. Most notably, Fr. Ernest Gio-
vannini, the provincial (1944-1958), brought over from Italy 12 young coadjutors to
help start up trade schools and, perhaps, to strengthen the presence of the lay
component in the Salesian identity. Of the other transferring confreres, 14 were
clerics and 25 priests. The 51 came from 20 different provinces in 14 countries. Italy
contributed more than half (26) from 7 provinces; the Barcelona province con-
tributed 5 young clerics (this was the period when Puerto Rico belonged to the
New Rochelle province), and the Paris province 3 clerics and a priest (work in
French-speaking Canada began in 1947).
Clerical members made up 74.6% of the new membership of the province, and
lay members 25.4%. This was a marked change from 1946, when priests and clerics
were 82.4% of the existing province. The reason for the change was not only the
influx of coadjutors from Italy but also native vocations. Of the confreres who came
to New Rochelle from elsewhere in the Congregation 23.5% were lay brothers; but
26.9% of the native vocations (V.S. and Canada) were coadjutors, as well.
The few losses (26), the many in-transfers (51), and the new vocations (67)
meant that by January 1952 the Province of New Rochelle had gained a net of 92
Salesians, or 62% more men, to a total of 240.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 231
4. Data and Observations: 1952-1960
In January 1952 the Province of New Rochelle had 240 Salesians:
Table 6: Personnel of the Province 1952
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
%
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
9
4
13
5.4
50
15
65
27.1
15
37
110
162
67.5
74
56
110
240
30.8
23.3
45.8
The lay membership of the province grew substantially, from 17.6% to 23.3%.
The province was substantially younger, with the novices and temporarily professed
now accounting for almost a third of the members (32.5%), in contrast to 25.7%
in 1946.
Nine years later (January 1961), one in four of those 240 men no longer
belonged to the province:
Table 7: Losses 1952-1960
Number
Percentage
Died
Transferred
Left the Society
Remained
11
4.6%0
8
3.3
40
16.7
181
75.4
More particularly, this is what happened to 1952's 240 Salesians by 1961:
cler. novices
coad. novices
cler. temp.
coad. temp.
cler. perp.
coad. perp.
priests
Table 8: Change 1952-1960
status 1952
status 1961
number p.p. trans. ord.
died
left rem'd
%
9
5
4
3
50
11
3
18
15
8
15
3
12
37
110
2
4
5 55.6
1
3 75.0
18
29 58.0
7
8 53.3
12 80.0
2
4
31 83.8
9
6
93 84.6
240
27
8
39
11
40
181 75.4

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232 Michael Mendl
The 40 confreres who left the Society between 1952 and 1960 divided thus:
Table 9: Departures 1952-1960
Number
% of departures
novices
temporarily professed
clerics
coadjutors
perpetually professed
clerics
priests
5
12.5%
18
45.0
7
17.5
4
10.0
6
15.0
clerical members
lay members
28
70.0
12
30.0
More than offsetting the loss of almost a quarter (24.6%) of the province's
personnel between 1952-1960 was the gain of 224 new confreres - a 93.3% increase
over the province's size in 1952! Thirty of these new members (13.4%) had belonged
to other provinces in 1952 and in 1961 were working in our province permanently or
on an extended basis. Another 194 men had joined the Society in those years. (Some
of these, too those entering the novitiate during 1961 or later - may have
transferred into our province from another, but I have not researched that; most,
if not all, were "native" vocations.)
The 30 confreres who transferred from other provinces included 3 perpetually
professed clerics (10%), 7 perpetually professed coadjutors (23%), and 20 priests (67%).
The 194 "new" members of the Society included:
Table 10: Vocations 1952-1960
Clerics
Coadjutors
Total
% of new
novices
28
10
38
19.6
temporarily professed
89
43
132
68.0
perpetually professed
15
9
24
12.4
total
132
62
194
Clerical members made up 68% of the new membership of the Society, and
lay members 32%.
Consequently, in January 1961 the Province of New Rochelle had grown to a
membership of 405 Salesians.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 233
Table 11: Personnel of the Province 1961
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
%
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
28
10
38
9.4
89
43
132
32.6
34
58
143
235
58.0
151
111
143
405
37.3
27.4
35.3
Clerical members now composed only 72.6% of the province, down from 76.7%
nine years earlier; lay membership had increased from 1952's 23.3% to 27.4%.
The total membership of the province grew from 240 to 405 confreres in nine
years a growth of 68.8%. Growth was greater among coadjutors, the numbers
almost doubling (+98.2%); clerical membership grew a "mere" 59.8%.
Increases by specific groups during the nine-year period were:
Table 12: Increases 1952-1960
clerical novices
coadjutor novices
temporarily professed clerics
temporarily professed coadjutors
perpetually professed clerics
perpetually professed coadjutors
priests
211%
150
78
187
127
57
30
There was obviously a youth movement on in our province during the 1950s.
All categories of members were increasing, but novices and temporarily professed
were increasing the fastest, priests and perpetually professed coadjutors the slowest.
Notable findings about the New Rochelle Province's development in personnel
between 1952 and 1960 are:
1. One-quarter of the men active in 1952 were no longer part of the province in
1961, and most of these (one-sixth of the total membership) had left the Society.
2. The province grew phenomenally despite these losses, from 240 members
to 405.
3. A sizeable portion (13%) of the province's new membership still came from
other parts of the Society, 50 years and more after its canonical establishment in
1902.
4. While numbers were increasing among both clerical and lay members, lay
membership was growing more than 1.5 times as fast as clerical membership.

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234 Michael Mendl
5. The average age of the province decreased: in 1952, 32.5% of the members
were novices or temporarily professed, but by 1961 this proportion had grown to
42%; the "priestly presence" decreased from 45% to 35%.
5. Data and Observations: 1961-1969
The nine years from 1961 to 1969 were also a period of growth. Before sur-
veying that growth, we will see what happened to the older membership, the 405
confreres of 1961, as of January 1970:
Table 13: Losses 1961-1969
Number
Percentage
Died
Transferred
Left the Society
Remained
21
5.2%0
11
7.7
116
28.6
257
63.5
One immediately sees that the loss of persom~el has gotten heavier: from
1952-1960's 24.6% to 1961-1969's 36.5%. This loss was caused by death and
transfers at basically the same rates as in the earlier period, but the portion of those
leaving the Society jumped to 28.6% up by 12.0%. In other words, the statistical
difference in losses between the two nine-year periods comes from this category.
In more detail, the province's personnel went in these directions between 1961
and 1969:
cler. novices
coad. novices
clef. temp.
coad. temp.
clef. perp.
coad. perp.
priests
Table 14: Change 1961-1969
status 1961
status 1970
number p.p. trans. ord.
died
left rem'd
%
28
8
10
1
89 16
43 27
34
58
143
1
19
8 28.6
1
8
1 10.0
1 29
43 45 50.6
1
15 27 62.8
2 22
10 22 64.7
2
4
10
42 72.4
4
16
11 112 78.3
404 52
11
52
21
116 257 63.5

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 235
Between 1961 and 1969, 116 confreres left the Society:
Table 15: Departures 1961-1969
Number
% of departures
novices
temporarily professed
clerics
coadjutors
perpetually professed
clerics
coadjutors
priests
27
23.5%
43
37.1
15
12.9
10
8.6
10
8.6
11
9.5
clerical members
lay members
83
71.6
33
28.4
Clerical departures, 71.6% of all departures, were virtually identical with the
clerical proportion of the province's membership (72.6%) in 1961.
Between 1961 and 1969, 22 priests came from other provinces to work in the
New Rochelle Province. No coadjutors or clerics transferred into the province in the
'60s - in contrast to the 1952-1960 period, when 33% of the transfers were
perpetually professed brothers, lay or clerical.
The province lost 148 confreres during the '60s from deaths, change of
province, or departure from the Society. To the 22 priests coming to the province
from other provinces, our province added 131 "home-grown" vocations. So the
losses were replaced, with a net gain of 5 men.
The 131 "new" members of the Society by 1970 included:
Table 16: Vocations 1961-1969
Clerics
Coadjutors
Total
% of new
novices
16
2
18
13.7
temporarily professed
85
12
97
74.1
perpetually professed
12
4
16
12.2
total
113
18
131
Clerical members made up 86.3% of the "new" membership, and lay members
just 13.7%. One notices at once a drastic drop-off in the coadjutors' ranks; in the
previous nine-year period, they were 32% of the province's new members. If the
22 priests who transferred into the province were also counted, the ratio would be
even more lopsided.

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236 Michael Mendl
In January 1970 the New Rochelle Province's total membership was 410 men.
Table 17: Personnel of the Province 1970
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
%
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
16
2
18
4.4
85
12
97
23.7
36
73
186
295
72.0
137
87
186
410
33.4
21.2
45.4
As the proportions of the new membership have already indicated, there was
during 1961-1969 a swing toward clericalization of the membership of the province.
(At the same time, a strong sense of declericalization was entering the province's
mindset; but that is another topic.) Specifically, by 1970 clerical membership had
jumped to 78.8%, slightly greater than 1952's 76.7%, but much more than 1961's
72.6%.
The province enjoyed a net gain of 1.2% in its personnel in the '60s, from 405
men (1961) to 410 (1970). The gains were entirely in the older ranks:
Table 18: Increases and Decreases 1961-1969
clerical novices
coadjutor novices
temporarily professed clerics
temporarily professed coadjutors
perpetually professed clerics
perpetually professed coadjutors
priests
-43%
-80
5
-72
+6
+ 26
+ 30
Only three classes of membership showed an increase, three which augured well
for the immediate future. But the serious drops in the younger classes indicated
future problems if not quickly reversed. In 1952, novices and temporarily professed
made up 32.5% of the province; in 1961, 42.0%; but in 1970, just 28.1 %.
This section of our study has shown how the New Rochelle Province developed
in personnel between 1961 and 1969. Notable findings are:
1. 36.5% of the men active in 1961 were no longer part of the province in 1970,
and most of these (more than one-fourth of the province's total roster) had left the
Society.
2. Despite these severe losses, the province managed to maintain its numbers
by recruiting new members.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 237
3. New membership in the province declined by 32.5%, from 194 new men
(1952-1960) to 131 new confreres (1961-1969).
4. Between 1961-1969 more of the province's new membership (14.4%) came
from outside the province than in the 1952-1960 period (13.4%) but only in terms
of ratio, not in absolute numbers.
5. The province's membership got older (72% perpetually professed in 1970,
vs. 58% in 1961) and more clerical (79%, up from 73%).
6. Data and Observations: 1970-1978
For the first time in its history, the New Rochelle Province experienced a net
decline in personnel numbers during the 1970-1978 period. As one might surmise,
this decline had two broad causes: the loss of old members and the decline in
newly-entering members.
In 1970 there were 410 men in the province. In 1979, 250 of them remained:
Table 19: Losses 1970-1978
Number
Percentage
Died
Transferred
Left the Society
Remained
19
4.6%0
11
2.7
130
31.7
250
61.0
The membership loss in general was quite similar to that of the 1961-1969
period. The particulars are as follows:

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238 Michael Mendl
cler. novices
coad. novices
cler. temp.
coad. temp.
cler. perp.
coad. perp.
priests
Table 20: Change 1970-1978
status 1970
status 1978
number p.p. trans. ord.
died
left rem'd
%
16
5
11
5 31.3
2
1
1
1 50.0
85
7
32
1 45 39 45.9
12
2
1
1
8
2 16.7
36
2 17
1
15
18 17 47.2
73
3
3
14
56 76.7
186
9
14
33 130 69.9
410 17
11
50
19 130 250 61.0
One of the 5 clerical novices of 1970, after his first profession, switched from
cleric to coadjutor. Two of the 85 temporarily professed clerics became coadjutors
by the time of their perpetual profession. And as the table shows, three perpetually
professed coadjutors studied for the priesthood and were ordained. Thus a total of
six confreres changed their lay or seminarian status during this period, three clerics
becoming coadjutors and three coadjutors becoming priests. Whether this was
unusual in the Society worldwide I do not know; it was very unusual though not
unprecedented in this province (see Table 3).
The percentage of confreres remaining in the province shows a further decline
compared to 1961-1969's 63.5% (not to mention 1952-1960's 75.4%). Once again
the ratio of deaths and transfers proves fairly constant. The percentage of those
leaving the Society increased yet again: from 28.6% (1961-1969) to 31.7%. Since
1952-1960, the ratio of those leaving the Society has almost doubled from one in six
to almost one in three.
Of the 130 confreres who left the Congregation we find:
17 One of these two opted to become a permanent deacon.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 239
Table 21: Departures 1970-1978
Number
% of departures
novices
temporarily professed
clerics
coadjutors
perpetually professed
clerics
coadjutors
priests
12
9.2%
45
34.6
8
6.2
18
13.8
14
10.8
33
25.4
clerical members
lay members
107
82.3
23
17.7
Clerical members, who were 78.8% of the province in 1970, left in slightly
greater proportion - 82.3%, in contrast to the lay members' 17.7%.
From 1952 to 1960 our province welcomed into its ranks 30 confreres from
other provinces; from 1961-1969, another 22; but between 1970-1978, just 9
transferring priests (one of whom was returning after some years in the missions).
These transfers accounted for but 9.4% of the confreres added to the province's
roster in 1970-1978 - a good sign if it meant that the province was mature enough
to supply almost all its own needs and no longer needed to depend of "feeding"
from Europe.
But in fact "native" Salesian vocations dropped off: In 1952-1960, 194 Amer-
icans and Canadians joined the Society; in 1961-1969, 131 locals; but in 1970-1978,
only 87 home-grown vocations - a 33.6% decline in nine years. A hopeful sign,
though, was the presence of 20 novices among those 87 in 1978!
This total of 96 new members of the province (9 transfers and 87 Americans or
Canadians) obviously did not nearly offset the loss of 160 men through death,
transfer out of the province, or leaving the Society.
The 87 "native" Salesian vocations divided as follows:
Table 22: Vocations 1970-1978
Clerics
Coadjutors
Total
% of new
novices
20
20
23.0
temporarily professed
46
7
53
60.9
perpetually professed
10
4
14
16.1
total
76
11
87

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240 Michael Mendl
A statistic of continuing concern is the 87.4% clerical composition of the new
membership (up 1.1 % from the previous nine years). An aberration is that 16.1 % of
the new members were already in perpetual vows, up almost 4% from the ratios of
both 1952-1960 and 1961-1969. Did that rise mean that, suddenly, those in initial
formation were beginning to persevere at a higher rate? Or did it mean that between
1973 and 1978 there were so few entering that the 1970-1973 group made up a
disproportionately high number of these "new" members? To answer the second
question one need only consult the appropriate elencos. The last major part of this
study will be a longer-range study of perseverance rates (Section 8) that will enable
us to answer the first question.
In January 1979 the New Rochelle Province's total membership was 346 men:
Table 23: Personnel of the Province 1979
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
%
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
20
20
5.8
46
7
53
15.3
21
63
189
273
78.9
87
70
189
346
25.1
20.2
54.6
The clericalization of the province continued; by 1979 priests and clerics made
up 79.8% of the membership, up 1.0% in nine years, 7.2% in eighteen years, and
3.1 % in twenty-seven years. Novices made up a slightly greater percentage of the
province than they did in 1952 or 1970, but far less than they did in 1961.
Notwithstanding that, the aging of the province was evident:
Table 24: Perpetually Professed Confreres
as a Proportion of Total Province Membership
Clerics
Coadjutors
Priests
Total
1946
13.5%
12.8%
48.0%
74.3%
1952
6.3
15.4
45.8
67.5
1961
8.4
14.3
35.3
58.0
1970
8.8
17.8
45.4
72.0
1979
6.1
18.2
54.6
78.9
For the first time (at least within the scope of this study), more than half the
province were priests. For the first time, more than three-quarters of the province
were in perpetual vows. The ratio of perpetually professed coadjutors climbed while
their absolute number dropped, though not as drastically as most of the other

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 241
personnel ranks of the province.
Except for the novices, all of whom were clerics in this unusual year, and the
priests, every category of membership in the province experienced a decline in the
nine-year period. The number of priests, of course, reflected in part the number of
clerics in the previous two nine-year cycles.
Table 25: Increases and Decreases 1970-1978
clerical novices
coadjutor novices
temporarily professed clerics
temporarily professed coadjutors
perpetually professed clerics
perpetually professed coadjutors
priests
+ 25.0%
-100.0
- 45.9
- 41.7
- 41.7
- 13.7
+ 1.6
Total personnel in the province dropped from 410 to 346, a loss of 15.6%. The
number of confreres in temporary vows was way down, yet, as we have already seen,
these are the ones most likely to leave the Society in the next nine years. The only
bright spot on the picture was the number of novices.
7. Data and Observations: 1979-1987
The previous part of the study showed the New Rochelle Province beginning to
decline in numbers. Almost one-third of the confreres left the Society between 1970
and 1978, while the losses due to death and transfer remained proportionally
constant. But the influx of new men no longer covered the losses. Gradually the
province was becoming more and more clerical - a serious foundational problem.
More serious from the immediate practical standpoint, it was rapidly aging at the
same time that the total membership dropped by one-sixth.
In 1979 the province had 346 confreres. In the next nine years almost 30% of
these were lost to the province.
Table 26: Losses 1979-1987
Number
Percentage
Died
Transferred
Left the Society
Remained
28
8.1%0
10
2.9
63
18.2
245
70.8

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242 Michael Mendl
The first thing one notices is that "only" 18.2% of the members had left the
Congregation - the lowest percentage since 1952-1960's 16.7%. Then one notices
that age has struck the province: the 8.1 % of 1979's confreres who died is
substantially higher than the average of 4.8% who died during the previous three
nine-year periods 1952-1960, 1961-1969, and 1970-1978. (Of the 28 who died, 2 were
under 50 years of age; I have not compared this ratio with the ratios of earlier
periods.)
cler. novices
coad. novices
cler. temp.
coad. temp.
cler. perp.
coad. perp.
priests
Table 27: Change 1979-1987
status 1979
status 1987
number p.p. trans. ord.
died
left rem'd
%
20
3
2
15
5 25.8
0
46
1
22
23
22 47.8
7
6
21
1 18
2
13
1
6 85.7
5
14 66.7
63
3
6
54 85.7
189
7
25
13
144 76.2
346
10
10
37
28
63
245 70.8
The 2 novices who were ordained are the first to advance so far in their
formation in a nine-year period (in this province, in this study), and the 22
temporarily professed clerics who were ordained is by far the highest such
percentage in this study. Two reasons may be presented for these facts:
1. The period of practical training between the years of studying philosophy
and those of theology was reduced from three years to two during this period,
bringing eventual ordination one year sooner.
2. More candidates were coming to the Society at a later age after having
already earned bachelor's or higher degrees. For some of them the process of
formation was shortened.
The proportion of temporarily professed coadjutors who made their perpetual
vows (85.7%) was also the highest found in this study. The sample, however, is
the smallest one in the study and, pending future studies, not much significance
attaches to it.
A source of pride for the province lay in the reason for the transfers of the
temporarily professed cleric, the two perpetually professed clerics, and two of the
18 Permanent deacon.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 243
priests: they went to the African missions (after their ordinations, in the cases of
the clerics).
In the 1979-1987 period there was some good news about the province's
personnel losses compared with the previous nine-year cycle: the rate of men leaving
the Congregation was cut in five of the six categories (the exception being the
novices), and the total rate was reduced by 13.5%, from 1970-1978's 31.7%
to 18.2%.
The 63 confreres who left from 1979-1987 divided thus:
Table 28: Departures 1979-1987
Number
% of departures
novices
15
23.8%
temporarily professed
clerics
23
36.5
coadjutors
1
1.6
perpetually professed
clerics
5
7.9
coadjutors
6
9.5
priests
13
20.6
clerical members
lay members
56
88.9
7
11.1
The departing clerical confreres were 9.1 % more than their proportion of
membership in 1979. The 38.1 % of those leaving who were perpetually professed
was down from 50% in the previous nine-year period, but still more than the 26.7%
of 1961-1969 or the 25% of 1952-1960. On the other hand, it was less than the
43.8% of the 1946-1951 period.
Of the 346 men who belonged to the province in January 1979, 245 remained in
January 1988 (70.8%). They were reinforced by only 44 new confreres. Of these 44,
12 were priests transferring from other provinces (27.3% of all the new confreres),
including one returning to the province and 8 coming to work with Italian, Polish,
or Hispanic immigrants; and 3 were transferring clerics (6.8%). The 29 "completely
new" men included:

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244 Michael Mendl
Table 29: Vocations 1979-1987
Clerics
Coadjutors
Total
novices 19
4
temporarily professed
22
2
24
perpetually professed
1
0
I
total
23
2
29
% of new
13.8
82.8
3.4
Not counting the novices, the new membership was 92.0% clerical, higher
still than all the previous figures recorded. The figure for perpetually professed is
shockingly low (cf. Tables 10, 16, and 22). It reflects either very small novitiate
classes from 1980-1982 (even in comparison with the four novices of 1988), or a very
low rate of retention of the members of those classes, or both.
With the number of new members barely replacing those who had died; the
number of those transferring in replacing those transferring out, with a few extra;
and more than one in six leaving the Society: the number of confreres serving in the
province continued the decline we saw in the previous nine-year cycle. In January
1988 the New Rochelle Province's total membership was only 289 men:
Table 30: Personnel of the Province 198820
Clerics Coadjutors Priests
Total
%
novices
temporarily professed
perpetually professed
total
% of province
4
1.4
25
2
27
9.3
5
60
193
258
89.3
30
62
193
289
10.5 21
21.8 21
66.8
Priests and clerics now composed 78.2% of professed members of the province,
down by 1.6% from 1979 (the earlier figure also included the novices). The drop was
not only because priests and clerics left the Congregation in proportionally greater
numbers than did coadjutors during 1979-1987, but also because they died in
19 The e1enco no longer distinguishes between clerical and coadjutor novices.
20 If one consults the statistics published in the Acts of the General Council of the Salesian
Society of St John Bosco, vol. 69, no. 325 (April-June 1988), p. 52, he will find different num-
bers in all of the categories below except the novices. I am not sure how to account for this; I
suppose that confreres "on leave" and some of those whom I have counted as transferred out
of the province account for some of the variance. I suggest that my figures more accurately
reflect the actual state of the province.
21 Percentage of 285; the novices, neither clerical nor coadjutor, are not counted.

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3.1 Page 21

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 245
6pp169rroo.58pp2%.oorrBttiiiunootnnntaahinllelleyypyrfgeeorawperaoest.rretricolnenurimocafblpermrise:esmt8-9bm.e3erm%s btheorafsntohiefnthd1ee9a7pt0hrosa.vniIndncejfuajscuttm, 1pi.n5ed%1f9r8mo8morthe5e4rt.he6a%wnetirone
The aging of the province went on:
Table 31: Perpetually Professed Confreres
as a Proportion of Total Province Membership
Clerics
Coadjutors
Priests
Total
1979
6.1
1988
1.7
18.2
54.6
78.9
20.8
66.8
89.3
Every group but priests suffered a loss of numbers during 1979-1987:
Table 32: Increases and Decreases 1979-1987
novices
temporarily professed clerics
temporarily professed coadjutors
perpetually professed clerics
perpetually professed coadjutors
priests
- 80.0%
-45.7
-71.4
-76.2
4.8
+ 2.1
The province's net loss was 57 members (from 346 to
1979 enrollment. The downward spiral begun during the
frightening pace. The province took several steps to address
289), or 16.5% of the
1970s continued at a
the vocational crisis:
1. Establishing the Eastern Canadian vice-province in August 1988
Canadian confreres and their works a more clearly Canadian identity.
results of that could be more Salesian vocations for that vice-province.
gave
One
to
of
the
the
Ss'8to0umsdee2un.not dTfnethehrewteospsoeprkoacvpaniemnercwspeaoi(vgtfooncCsatahtwtieohenorSeldiacplierresueicnpatianovrsree)radsflirotweireamistdh,syitnoihnefntvhhaoeetilcoplaanttoiaeofln'7aCd0aavsdtehvareontirldstiiciscniogmnngpat,igrnoaeufz.egiinsn.,sgeisioin,nnaettlthhcsee..
ipnrteevriv3oi.ueswAlyin,vgoo,nceeavtmiaolaunnatdhiinargde,cttoaonrrdowadamositnahgpepaeolnlitnitrhteeodDse.fSot.hrpintahgretsostfhotauhtethvpeorrocnvaitVnioc.Sen.vdiFsirioteircntgso,orssmpedeoayk. einagrs,
4. A house of
in New Orleans in
South and to ease
formation for interested candidates and pre-novices was opened
1989, the better to serve potential Salesian recruits from the
their transition to life in a large province of an international

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246 Michael Mendl
Congregation.
taongneut5ah.lelyrThatoevo1a9cp8ap6toiopinnrtopvolinanencicaaonl ndcfhrraeerpvetiesteroditciroaeoncrntdeudianlealyatec. hlEocacocamhl mecfoufmonrimttsyutnooiftpythrowemapsrootavelsinvocodeciatrtoeiocptneusdt.
6. After long study and the required approval from the general
province promulgated a formation directory on May 10, 1991; it is
province's general directory, discussed in the 1989 provincial chapter
council, the
part of the
(see the first
paragraph of this study).
MteocecaloenNtshwiaaehtsrutiilrcevaaaltlllhuycee,asricetuoerlretfsum,rreeaclioinrgnesimtoitnuoausinbeselitfoaseed,tevanoekrrwesehCthetheothriirlesorktnintaghon-ecrsakleinsfeegfferfoioncmrotsmgaeamsnnseiodtrrmatole.etdhnTetc,rhostenowtrCciolhlhvaubesrretsciaithrey,s,fraaaunnnitddd.
odiTtnhcohcecwelausnsOrtdiaoointtnanihgsdatithslipocesesnrcroopapwtanuehdhdbteuialrcibalshshlehl.fayetonhdrpdeera,.opnifrEnteouvssvsaeeieelnnldmcy,eisnilneotfhDftthaNotethneteAwhceBStoRosCcsoiohecctufohytr'e.sh2cle2hledGYaa-yenensdteatrhtnhahuedlegCeCoCotoohnunnenugrgcmsrirelebtg-goeaarotst,ipioojronuenfsdfehglSnoaiantuvllgryeeissffbihriaenoeneddmsns.,
igTr1teis9hvme4eel0anfnIsinfnnmaeetunhedomddemwrben1eeeo9nrrises5tt 0awbodseun)seriraagaienvnndfgedieferwiaatichtgdasaee-nneptmdndrdadeutiysfhcssefohetnrsortyeeefeondltDuce.eenamovgbnoieengrtBgrwtaohwepsaecehnnroiecwh(poseortwraofitphnetoodh, rweittthiCooeisnoumanrtlhgelpeyrneromagovgafaeitNnniocyoene,wf bltlohoRuoeotokktccehehododenslafleirentewaartenhnhsyoed.
Sherbrooke today.
8. Long-term Perseverance
gnsemtreareeccewmehtcsTIbshcotheaoeriirrsshssidlooyoesrrfftcetusmlm,taiidnmwwoayeiriednledh.leeaitWwdnhasteaeihotnnhsfnsiu,aepn1wstad9rss5afiisvxa2nnir-a.nsyrTfgHbyeeaeairiobnnserwl,gnteaennrlcm2eoedo,wsnantfgsnoctem-yeorvtreeeinkrrnnremenasmdtloeanwrannwatiicentniaeerteebish,dn-oytgohhuie,fonatawaptrp1ne8ep9rdtr26eshs.e1re4epivvo%eeoNerdrsrrsaeaeo.nw1nvfcA9cete7erhRl,a0oeorn?anacpcsgtAhereoweswsrlvelaoiwiettnvdehecepsider.trlh'oolsioavon1ntikn9gtwc4heaee6ert
short term? What conclusions might the evidence point toward?
22 Pietro STELLA, Don Bosco nella storia de/la religiosita cattolica, 2a ed., 2 (Rome: LAS,
1981), pp. 394-395, 401-402.

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 247
The men in the province as of January 1, 1946, form one cohort. Those who
entered between 1946 and 1951 form a second one, which I will call the 1952 cohort;
those of 1952-1960 a third (1961); those of 1961-1969 a fourth (1970); and those of
1970-1978 a fifth (1979).
When I speak below of "persevering," I will mean those who remained in the
province or who died in it (as far as the study is concerned). I will not count those
who transferred out of it unless they subsequently returned (having been provincial
or a missionary elsewhere, for example).
Those referred to below as "in initial formation" are the men in the novitiate or
in temporary vows.
Table 33: The 1946 Cohort
Group
Start
Persevering in 1952
1961
1970
initial formation
38
perpetually professed
107
145
29
25
25
100
98
95
129
123
120
Over a twenty-four-year period (1946-1970), 65.8% of those in initial formation
persevered (25 out of 38). Those in perpetual vows persevered at an 88.8% rate
(95 of 107).
Table 34: The 1952 Cohort
Group
Start
Persevering in 1961
1970
1979
initial formation
76
perpetually professed
42
118
45
33
21
32
27
22
77
60
43
Over a twenty-seven-year period (1952-1979), 27.6% of those who were in initial
formation in 1952 persevered. Those in perpetual vows (men who transferred into
the province 1946-1951 or who entered the Society and made their perpetual
profession in that period) persevered at a 52.4% rate.
Comparing the 1946 cohort with the 1952 cohort, we see that the rate of
perseverance for the perpetually professed members dropped from 88.8% to 52.4%.
The fact that we are looking at twenty-four years in the former case, and
twenty-seven years in the latter ought not to make a significant difference. But the
1946 cohort includes all the members of the province in perpetual vows at that time,
whereas the 1952 group includes only members new to the province, and therefore
on average much younger; that is a significant difference. But is it so significant that

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248 Michael Mendl
by itself it explains a drop of 36.4% in rate of perseverance?
The rate of perseverance of those in initial formation, however, is comparable
if we assume that the twenty-four-year period is essentially comparable to the
twenty-seven-year period. Again, we find a major drop in the rate of perseverance,
from 65.8% to 27.6%
Table 35: The 1961 Cohort
Group
Start
Persevering in 1970
1979
1988
initial formation
170
perpetually professed
54
224
82
51
49
36
30
26
118
81
75
Over the twenty-seven-year period 1961-1988, only 28.8% of the confreres in initial
formation remained or died in the province. This is but marginally better than the
1952 cohort's 27.6%. Those in perpetual vows persevered at a rate of 48.1 %,
appreciably less than the 52.4% of the 1952 cohort.
As we saw in Tables 7-8, 181 of 1952's province ranks were still active members
in 1961; 144 (79.6%) of these were still in the province in 1970. Of the 37 who were
not, 17 had died (9.4%), 4 had transferred to another province (2.2%), and 16 had
left the Society (8.8%). Between 1961 and 1969, the drop-out rate about halved,
from 16.7% (1952-1960). Not unnaturally, the death rate about doubled, from
4.6%. The rate of province transfer was similar, 3.3% vs. 2.2%.
Table 36: The 1970 Cohort
Group
Start
Persevering in 1979
1988
1993
initial formation
115
perpetually professed
38
153
49
36
32
22
20
16
71
56
48
The men in initial formation in the 1970 cohort have persevered at a rate of 27.8%
during the twenty-three years since. Of the perpetually professed in this group,
42.1 % have persevered. Both of these figures are lower than the rates of the
1961 cohort over a twenty-seven-year span. In Table 33 we saw that over a
twenty-four-year period, 65.8% of the 1946 cohort in initial formation persevered.
In 1961, 44.7% of the province were veterans who had belonged at least since
1952. Of the 116 men who left the Society between 1961 and 1969, only 16 (13.8%)
came from this veteran group. The other 86.2% came from men who joined the
province between 1952 and 1960. Among factors which might be at work here are
(a) the age and maturity of the earlier group in contrast to that of the new and, of

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province 249
course, younger members; (b) a more solid formation program enjoyed by the
earlier group; (c) a lowering in the quality of candidates admitted during the '50s.
(These three factors are not mutually exclusive, and other explanations are also
possible.)
Possiblities (b) and (c) invite a comparison of 1952's personnel in formation
with 1961's and 1970's. How did the confreres in formation in 1952 persevere in
comparison with their younger confreres?
These are the rates of perseverance which we find:
Table 37: Long-term Perseverance I
Original number 23
9 years later
1952 novices
temp. professed
perp. prof. clerics
formation total
13
8 = 61.5%
65
37 = 56.9
12
12 = 100.0
90
57 = 63.3
1961 novices
temp. professed
perp. prof. clerics
formation total
37
10 = 27.0
132
74 = 56.1
34
24 = 70.6
203
108 = 53.2
1970 novices
temp. professed
perp. prof. clerics
formation total
18
6 = 33.3
95
42 = 44.2
11
7 = 63.6
124
55 = 44.4
18 years later
5 = 38.5%
28 = 43.1
12 = 100.0
45 = 50.0
3 = 8.1
45 = 34.1
14 = 41.2
62 = 30.5
3 = 16.7
33 = 34.7
6 = 54.5
42 = 33.9
One sees in every case that 1961's groups had a lower rate of perseverance than
did 1952's. Before one jumps to the conclusion, however, that this was because
formation in the '60s was somehow defective in comparison with earlier formation,
one must also remember that the men who entered the Society between 1952 and
1960 were (obviously) younger and (presumably) less mature when the sociocultural
turmoil of the '60s hit the entire province, and so were more susceptible to that
turmoil regardless of any formation program.
A comparison of the 1970 cohort with the 1961 cohort yields mixed results: the
1970 novices and perpetually professed clerics show a greater rate of long-term
perseverance than their 1961 peers. The 1961 temporary professed persevered at a
higher rate than 1970's over a nine-year period, but the rate became a virtual tie
over eighteen years. Overall, the men in formation in the 1970 cohort persevered
23 Confreres who later transferred from the province within 18 years are not counted in
this table. Those who died in the province within 18 years are counted as having persevered.

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250 Michael Mendl
at a slightly higher rate (3.4% higher) than those in the 1961 group.
Clearly, men who entered the Congregation prior to, roughly, 1955 show a
much greater tendency to persevere than those who entered afterwards.
The startling differences in rates of perseverance between the 1952 cohort and
those of 1961 and 1970 may be a function of stage of religious life and not of the
quality of the respective formation programs. The influence of the 1970s on Salesians
in formation was a different influence than that of the 1960s. Before one can begin to
draw firm conclusions about the variances in rates of perseverance, one must study
the rates of loss experienced by other congregations in these periods, the relative ages
of admission, admission criteria and procedures, formation programs, etc.
Less than eighteen years has passed since 1979; hence a complete comparison
of the 1979 cohort with the earlier ones cannot be made. Here are the data up to
October 1993:
Table 38: The 1979 Cohort
Group
Start
Persevering in 1988
1993
initial formation
72
perpetually professed
17
89
33
28
14
13
47
41
Table 39: Long-term Perseverance II
Original number
9 years later
1979 novices
20
5 = 25.0%
temp. professed
52
28 = 53.8
perp. prof. clerics
9
7 = 77.8
formation total 81
81
40 = 49.4
18 years later
5 = 25.0%
23 = 44.2
6 = 66.7
34 = 42.0
The comparison of those in formation in 1979 with the other three cohorts
(Table 37) shows that after nine years the 1979 cohort generally resembled the 1961
cohort; which is to say that they did not fare very well. The relatively large novitiate
class that was a source of hope (Tables 21 and 25) turned out, numerically, to be a
disappointment (25% remaining). On the other hand, aside from the novices, those
in formation in 1979 (those already professed) proved more persevering than their
1970 correlates (57.4% vs. 46.2%) and just slightly less persevering than their 1961
peers (58.3%). Those in formation in the early and mid-70s apparently did last
better than their immediate predecessors. The factors posed concerning differences
in rates of perseverance (under Table 37) might be posed again here.
The data for the 1979 cohort after fourteen years suggest that after eighteen
years this cohort will closely resemble the 1970 cohort in rates of perseverance: not

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Personnel of the New Rochelle Province L.-J 1
nearly so enduring as the 1952 cohort but marginally better than that of 1961.
9. Changes of Status
In several places we have seen that confreres changed their lay or clerical status
in the Congregation. The total number of these members was small. But it seems to
be worth asking how well these men persevered and what, if anything, we can learn.
Two of the subjects of this study changed their status from cleric to coadjutor
between 1946 and 1951 (Table 3). By 1961 both of these men had left the Society.
Between 1970 and 1978 six confreres changed their lay or clerical status
(following Table 20). All three who switched from cleric to coadjutor left the Society
by 1988, and so did one of the three coadjutors who sought and received priestly
ordination.
This sample of eight individuals is too small to draw anything resembling a
definite conclusion, but, six of the eight having left-five of them after perpetual
profession-one might ask whether such changeovers generally indicate a fund-
amental vocational instability. Obviously such instability is not universally the case.
10. A Bright Spot amid the Losses
Don Bosco treasured all vocations for the Church, as we know. Among the
scores of those counted somewhere above as having left the Salesian Society, as well
as among those not counted because I studied only six particular elencos, are many
novices, clerics, and priests who are now serving the Church as secular priests. I am
personally aware of at least 31 of them, 11 who left the Salesians as novices or
clerics, and 20 who left after ordination-just since 1946. Another priest has joined
a new religious congregation. No doubt there are others in this period; I have not
tried to track any down.24
11. Tentative Conclusions
The data presented above suggest the following tentative conclusions for the
two provinces (New Rochelle and Sherbrooke) that emerged from the 1988 division
of the New Rochelle province.
1. The provinces, even in the best of times, may expect at least one confrere out
of six to leave the Society over nine years' time.
24 One could do such tracking for the V.S. by using the annual National Catholic Direc-
tory (New York: Kenedy).

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252 Michael Mendl
2. The best way to minimize these losses appears to be to concentrate on the
initial formation program (between first profession and perpetual profession) since
the vast majority of confreres who left did so in that span. As heavy as the losses
from this group were in the statistics presented above, there were additional losses
not counted in this study: all those who entered, professed, and left within the gaps
between the years studied, e.g. between 1962 and 1968.
3. The loss of confreres seems to have bottomed out, whether because of more
mature candidates, more careful evaluation of candidates, a solidified formation
program, the settling down of the times in and out of the Church (if they have
settled down), or a combination of these factors.
4. The two provinces have more men available now than New Rochelle did in
1946 or even 1952, but these men are substantially older (contrast Tables 6 and 30).
That brings the benefits of experience and the drawbacks of age and poor health.
5. The death rate in the provinces is likely to remain higher rather than lower
(closer to 8.1 % than to 4.6% per nine years) for the immediate future.
6. The number of confreres leaving the provinces to serve other parts of the
Congregation or to retire will have a minimal impact on the provinces (having
averaged 2.9% per nine years since 1952).
7. Unless there is a major influx of new North American candidates or
confreres from abroad, the number of men in the provinces will continue to fall
gradually for the foreseeable future.
8. The image and role of the coadjutor brother in Don Bosco's family continue
to bear study, and strategies for attracting and retaining coadjutor vocations need
to be devised, evaluated, and adjusted if this image and role are as vital as the
Congregation has thought up till now.