Austrian Catholic church mounts billboard campaign to recruit priests

The Roman Catholic diocese of Austria’s most populous province has launched a billboard campaign to recruit priests as it attempts to repopulate its thinning ranks.

Such advertising for priests is rare, and the Lower Austrian diocese’s decision reflects fears that the Catholic Church in Austria may soon not be able to carry out its mission due to a lack of clergy.

Austria formally remains an overwhelmingly Catholic nation, with more than 64 percent of its people declaring themselves as church members.

But the number of declared Catholics has shrunk by 13 percent since 1960. And the number of priests has dropped even more sharply — by 26 percent.

The campaign in Lower Austria province was launched Tuesday.