Pope Francis wants Catholic leaders to pray for more priests and nuns as their numbers decline due to deaths and departures.
During a Monday meeting at the Vatican with representatives of half-dozen religious orders, the pope urged them to seek help from God while stepping up recruiting efforts, according to the Associated Press.
"You have to have successors who will continue your charism," he said, using a Greek word for spiritual gifts. "Pray, pray."
At one point, Francis asked the audience members how many prospective priests and nuns they were training and was told eight, 12 and 17, all from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
"The future is there, it's true," Francis responded. "We have to double these numbers!"
The number of priests around the world has dropped from 413,418 in 2011 to 407,872 in 2021, or 1.3%, according to Vatican statistics.
The number of nuns plunged an even greater 14.6%, from 713,206 to 608,958 during the same period, for an average of more than 10,000 a year.
The greatest declines were recorded in Europe and the Americas, leading some orders to collapse while others scale down and sell off properties, AP said.