Msgr. Stephen J. Rossetti is a leading authority on the Catholic priesthood in America. He is a gifted priest, an eminent psychologist and researcher, a man who understands the minds and hearts of priests. When he speaks, people listen.

Msgr. Rossetti has just published a groundbreaking study on the U.S. priesthood, a study drawn largely from 2009 research that gathered information from 2,482 priests in 23 dioceses across the country. The findings are supplemented by a 2004 research project, studying 1,242 priests from 16 dioceses.

The large-scale study focuses upon the psychological and spiritual health of Catholic priests. Using modern statistical analysis, sophisticated software and standardized psychological testing, Msgr. Rossetti compares this cohort of priests to normative samples drawn from the general population. His findings are strong, replicable and consistent.

In the words of national Catholic columnist John Allen, Msgr. Rossetti’s book helps clear away “the debris of myth and public prejudice” frequently associated with the priesthood in America, and helps the Church to focus on the very real challenges facing the priesthood today.

In short, the Rossetti study concludes that “priests, as a group, are very happy men. They like priesthood. They are committed to it. They find much satisfaction in their lives and ministries. In fact, the satisfaction rates of priests are among the highest of any way of life or vocation in the United States.”

Msgr. Rossetti’s findings present good news for Church and culture: “Priesthood consistently measures as perhaps the most fulfilling and satisfying vocation of any. Priests reported levels of happiness that are remarkably high and consistent across many studies ... Nor are their lives unhealthy; they are much less burned-out, more satisfied, and less psychologically impaired than their lay counterparts.”

In Msgr. Rossetti’s words, “The happiness of priesthood ought to be made publicly known and kept a secret no longer.”

As he examines the elements in a priest’s life that are responsible for bringing him satisfaction and joy in his vocation, an overall theme emerges: The centrality of a priest’s spiritual life is the core and source of his inner peace, wellbeing and personal joy. A deep and personal sense of God’s love remains the bedrock and treasure of our priests’ lives, and explains many of the astounding findings contained in the Rossetti study.

As he reviewed the variables that correlated highly with priestly happiness and morale, several elements emerged.

• Being happy first and foremost comes from within. Happiness in priesthood is affected by what the priest brings to priesthood, not what is imposed upon him from the outside. This sense of inner peace transcends the climate and pressures of the day. Priesthood is a spiritual life. To be a happy priest necessarily includes having a strong relationship to God and nurturing that relationship daily with typical priestly practices. Clearly in first place is the joy of administering the sacraments and presiding over liturgy.
  
  
• A second important variable predicting priestly happiness is the priest’s variable view of celibacy. The Rossetti data demonstrate that how a priest comes to grips with his commitment to celibacy is critical to how happy he will be as a priest. This variable directly probes whether this deep integration of priestly celibacy has taken place in the priest’s life. Seventy-five percent of the survey participants agreed or strongly agreed that celibacy has been a personal grace, and 78.2 percent agreed or strongly agreed that “God has called me to live a celibate life.”
  
  
• A third predictor of happiness and morale is described under the heading of relationship to God. One cannot overstate the importance of a priest’s personal relationship with God. It is the strongest predictor of the first variable, inner peace. A priest simply will not be a happy priest unless he has a personal and direct relationship to God that is nourishing him. Msgr. Rossetti asks, “How can one be and function as a priest without such a relationship?”
  
  
• The fourth factor he examines is a priest’s relationship to his bishop. “Priestly spirituality recognizes the deep bond between bishop and priest,” he writes. “Much more than a secular boss, a bishop is spiritual father, brother, coworker, and friend; his priests are an extension of his own apostolic ministry. Therefore it is no wonder that priests are strongly affected by the relationship with their bishop.”
  
  

Advice to seminary and formation personnel:

Work intensely with seminarians on their spiritual formation, fostering a direct, personal relationship with God. Train the seminarians and younger priests to see celibacy is a gift from God and to see it as a personal grace. Assist seminarians in their development of good friendships, and screen out seriously isolated men. Do not underestimate the impact of a dysfunctional childhood, and a background of childhood mental problems, on the future success and happiness of a priest. Screening prospective priesthood candidates for a history of sexual problems remains critical. Do not overlook obesity in a candidate, and ask what a priest’s obesity means.

Advice to the priests:

Give thanks to God for the vocation to the priesthood. Let people know about the joy of your priesthood. Give primacy to your relationship to God. Foster good friendships, and focus on the traditional elements of a priests’ spiritual life, including the sacrament of reconciliation, the daily Holy Hour, the Liturgy of the Hours, theological and spiritual reading, the annual retreat and filial devotion to Mary. Work on priestly unity in the entire presbyterate. Foster priestly support through support groups, social gatherings and opportunities for common prayer. Love and support the bishop. Be aware that the signs of burn out, depression and anxiety must be managed. Learn to deal with stress in healthy ways. Exercise and lose weight. Take your weekly day off, as well as an annual vacation.

Advice to bishops:

Affirm your priests often. Be encouraged that the majority of your priests love you, support you and obey you. Make supporting priests’ spiritual lives a priority. Understand that priests need help with their workloads. Priests need to know they will be dealt with fairly. Younger priests need solid mentoring and support. Continue to make healing resources readily available if a priest is considering leaving priesthood. Help him to assess his personal and spiritual life before considering departure. Have diocesan programs available to ensure that priests maintain a proper weight, exercise, eat healthfully, receive medical checkups regularly and receive proper time off.

Advice to laity:

In words he offers to the lay community, John Allen provides an insightful collusion to Msgr. Rossetti’s landmark study. “If I were to offer a recommendation to rank and file Catholics based on Rossetti’s data,” Allen writes, “it would boil down to this: The priests of this country obviously love serving you and ministering to you, because otherwise there’s no way to explain why they are basically happy, in the teeth of a culture which constantly tells them they’re not supposed to be. They love you. Try to love them back.”

I am personally grateful to Msgr. Stephen Rossetti for an outstanding and invaluable study, which will help all of us to understand, celebrate and tell others with insight and conviction why priests are happy.