After consulting both the Presbyteral Council and the Diocesan Finance Council, Archbishop Durocher has recently approved an important change to the salary scale for priests. At present, priests in our diocese receive an annual salary of roughly $45,000. Following the recommendations of these two councils, this salary will gradually increase between 2026 and 2028, eventually reaching $55,000.
- Why such a significant increase?
The salary of priests in our diocese has remained stagnant since it was last revised more than 20 years ago. Setting aside the annual cost-of-living adjustments, priestly salaries have not changed over that period, while the average salary in Quebec has increased by 20%.
- Isn’t the current salary sufficient for a single person?
The Presbyteral Council has heard concerns from priests who cannot afford to replace an aging car, or who live in very modest apartments, or who find it difficult to travel to their home country to visit family. More troubling still, some priests are unable to save for retirement; they risk finding themselves in poverty when they can no longer work.
- Don’t priests take a vow of poverty?
Priests who belong to religious communities (such as the Oblates, the Montfortains, or the Spiritans) do take a vow of poverty. This means they share their resources in common with the other members of their community. Their salary is given to the community; in return, the community provides for all their needs until their death.
Most of the priests who serve our parishes, however, are diocesan priests—also known as “secular priests.” They do not take a vow of poverty, and they are responsible for their own financial needs. They pay taxes and contribute to a health-care plan. They must plan for their eventual retirement. The diocese does not provide long-term financial support for them.
- What about the salaries of priests in neighbouring dioceses?
Each diocese sets its own salary policy. A comparative study shows that the average priest’s salary in the surrounding dioceses is about $55,000. With this adjustment, our diocese will fall in line with that average.
- Is there a salary grid based on seniority, experience, or added responsibilities?
No, there has never been such a salary grid for priests. For comparison, a beginning teacher earns approximately $65,000 per year; as a teacher gains experience or further qualifications, they move up the salary scale and can eventually earn more than $100,000 per year.
The salary of priests, by contrast, is fixed. Even if a priest is responsible for three parishes, has thirty years of experience, and has earned a doctorate, he receives the same salary as a newly ordained priest. This is equally true for the archbishop.
- But don’t parishes provide housing and meals in addition to salary?
Most parishes no longer have a rectory in which their priest can live, so the priest must find his own apartment. Even when a parish does have a rectory, the priest must pay rent to the parish corporation in order to live there. Priests are also responsible for their own food costs. For example, our archbishop pays room and board at Maison St-Joseph.
- Why doesn’t the diocese itself pay the priests?
The diocese is nothing more than the network of parishes within its territory. Instead of maintaining a common fund to which all parishes contribute in order to pay all priests collectively, tradition has it that each parish or pastoral unit is responsible for the salary of the priest who serves it.
- Will this change be difficult for parish corporations to absorb?
This increase will indeed be a challenge for many parish corporations. That is why it will be introduced gradually over three years. All things being equal, Sunday collections will need to rise by approximately $70 per week each year for the next three years. It is also worth noting that many parishes share a priest; in such cases, the increase will be shared among them.
- A final thought
Parish solidarity is expressed in the collective effort of parishioners to ensure that their priest can live with dignity, without anxiety about his future. In this way, he can give himself fully to their service, for their greater joy. Priests are not seeking to enrich themselves, but they are entitled to a fair and just income. If each of us does our part, we will successfully meet this challenge—together!