But some nonprofits exist to help aspiring priests and nuns pay debt
Seventy percent of religious orders say student loan debt of potential applicants has “impacted” their work.
The number comes from a new report by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and commissioned by the Labouré Society. The think tank’s data draws from 275 religious institutes and 83 dioceses.
The Labouré Society works with individuals pursuing religious life, such as the priesthood or joining a convent as a nun, to help them with their student debt.
The College Fix spoke further with Thu Do, a religious sister and author of the report. She is a member of the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Hanoi and has a doctorate in higher education, according to her bio.
“While the religious institutes may encounter the burden of education debt of their candidates, they do not do so alone,” Do said.
“In fact, a number of organizations provide funds to assist candidates with educational debt,” Do told The Fix. “Thus it is important for the religious institutes to reach out to those organizations so that they can receive assistance from those sources.”
According to the think tank’s research, “70% of religious institutes report being impacted by the student loan debt of serious inquirers.”
“80% of dioceses face formal applicants with student loan debt,” the report also found.
Individuals entering religious life must not have debt as church law stipulates, according to CARA.
“The Labouré Society commissioned CARA to conduct this study,” Do said. “Their purpose is to get a better picture of religious life candidates experiencing educational debt, so that the Society can continue to serve religious institutes and candidates.”
“On average, responding institutes with at least one serious inquirer in the last five years report that for about a quarter of these inquiries (25%) the person had educational debt at the time of their inquiry,” the report found. “This represents 1,412 serious inquiries in which the person had educational debt at the time of inquiry,” the think tank reported.
“The average amount of debt at the time of inquiry was $45,128,” according to the report.
Furthermore, “religious institutes are noticing an increase in the number of inquirers who approach them with educational debt,” according to the report.
Additionally, 15 percent of responding dioceses said they “turned away at least some inquirers because of their educational debt.”
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But the report also found seven percent of religious orders have “experienced financial strain due to the educational debt of candidates or members.”
However, some religious institutes do not accept applicants with debt, which means some individuals with loans may not even approach a group. “In our monastery a woman must be debt-free to enter, so some will not pursue entrance here because the task of paying off the debt is overwhelming,” one religious order said.
“The burden of debt on both religious institutes and individuals is there,” Do, the religious sister and researcher, told The Fix.
Of those reported applicants who still owed student loans, the average debt was about $23,582, according to the report.
The Labouré Society has made a large dent in this educational debt. So far, the society has helped over 250 religious communities and dioceses by relieving their financial burdens.
Other groups also exist to help aspiring religious sisters, monks, and priests pursue their vocation. For example, the Fund for Vocations pays student loans for every month someone is discerning a religious life. “Usually the last hurdle to entrance is this student loan debt,” the group’s executive director told The Fix in 2021.
Many individuals were able to enter into religious life because of Labouré’s help. Its website features testimonials from current priests, including Bill Duffert with the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
“Without the continued support and guidance of Labouré, my vocation would have been postponed for decades, and possibly lost forever,” Duffert said. “With Labouré’s help, I was able to resolve six-figure student loan debt in 24 months rather than 20 years.”
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