In February 2024, parishioners and clergy representing 17 parishes in the Eastern region of the Archdiocese of Melbourne gathered at the Greater Box Hill parish to break open their 2021 Parish Social Profile as a tool to help understand their local communities and the opportunities presented for mission and outreach.
The parish social profiles are a project of the National Centre for Pastoral Research (NCPR), an agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. The NCPR analyses data from the 2021 national census and produces reports of the Catholic population in every parish in Australia (parish social profiles) as well as diocesan profiles and a national profile. Each attendee was given the parish social profile of their own parish upon entry.
The idea for this gathering came from Very Rev Tony Kerin, parish priest of Greater Box Hill, and Denis Fitzgerald, a parishioner at St Dominic’s Camberwell East, who wished to gather parishes together to continue the Take the Way of the Gospel journey. Out of that conversation came a collaboration with a number of other nearby parishes and a decision to reach out to team members of the Archdiocese.
We see 14,000 people of no religion just in [Box Hill] parish alone. And there’s only 4000 professed Catholics. How do those 4000 reach out to those 14000 of no religion? How do we connect with them?’
Fr Kerin welcomed those who attended, remarking on the need for parishes to be aware of the changing demographic landscape of their parishes. ‘I was looking at the population forecast and apparently central Box Hill is going to increase 47 per cent in the next 15 years,’ he said.
‘At the Cathedral we had the Rite of Election: over 260 catechumens … back to pre-COVID numbers of people wanting to join the Catholic Church, on their faith journey, guided by their faith communities. That is a source of rejoicing. But we see 14,000 people of no religion just in [Box Hill] parish alone. And there’s only 4000 professed Catholics. How do those 4000 reach out to those 14000 of no religion? How do we connect with them?’
Dr Stephen Reid, a senior researcher at NCPR, gave a presentation exploring the key aspects of the parish social profiles and giving advice on how they might be useful in parish planning. Dr Reid explained that the profiles focus on the Catholic population within the canonical boundaries of a parish, listing things such as the number of Catholic families and households, ages, income, percentage of elderly, languages other than English spoken and the Indigenous population. He pointed out that it does not measure the attitudes, beliefs or motivations of the individuals behind the numbers, nor does it contain Mass attendance numbers.
To help participants see the numbers as more than just ‘boring’ statistics, Dr Reid made the point that ‘each number is an individual who sat down and marked that box “Catholic”’.
For example, each parish social profile provides statistics on languages other than English spoken but also on the percentage of those people who cannot speak English well. Based on this data, Dr Reid suggested that some parishes may think about providing translations in certain communications.
To help participants see the numbers as more than just ‘boring’ statistics, Dr Reid made the point that ‘each number is an individual who sat down and marked that box “Catholic”’. He encouraged them to engage with the report ‘have fun with it!’
A panel reflected on their parish’s responses to their social profiles and their ‘takeaways’. Mary Tan, from St Christopher’s Syndal, noted that the data showed the importance of reaching out to the ‘de-churched’, including reaching out to families who have not returned to Mass after COVID. With an increase in the median age of Catholics, the importance of reaching out to the middle-aged was also noted. Ms Tan suggested that a good response would be to ‘step out of our comfort zone and do evangelisation’ given that more than 80 per cent of the population are not Catholics. The data, she said, validated their efforts to develop a clear evangelisation pathway, including establishing a visitation team and running Alpha, which leads to RCIA.
Tricia Norman from the parishes of Camberwell, Deepdene–Balwyn and Surrey Hills – Wattle Park, noted that the data showed a need to support and connect with parishioners as they age, as well as offering them opportunities for service and ministry as they approach retirement age. Ms Norman noted that the growing diversity of ethnic communities highlights a need to provide opportunities to share their faith and traditions. The largest religious affiliation recorded in their profile was ‘no religion’, prompting Ms Norman to reflect on opportunities to understand and have conversations around the aspirations of this cohort of people, particularly in light of Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli tutti.
At Mount Waverley, parish priest Fr Justel Callos also spoke of the diversity of ethnic communities, which was reflected in recent moves to celebrate Masses each month for different communities, including the Filipino and Indonesian communities.
Fr Tony Kerin noted that the data showed that Greater Box Hill’s biggest employment sectors were medical, education and retail—sectors that include those on low wages—and reflected on how this may influence the times people attend Mass or the places where the parish may go out and provide pastoral care. Data pointing to the large Chinese population in Greater Box Hill reinforced the need to reach out to them.
At the end of the evening, participants were given time to reflect and discuss their own parish data. Participants were also guided by questions that prompted them to choose a couple of key areas to focus on, dive deeper and brainstorm creative pastoral solutions.
Parishes can access their Parish Social Profile here.
