Our People, Our Place
The Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton (CAEDM) is a family of Christian disciples, dedicated to serving the mission of the Church by bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bear on life in our community
The Archdiocese covers some 150,000 square kilometres in a geographic region stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the west, to the Saskatchewan boundary in the east, from Olds in the south to Grande Cache in the north.
The Archdiocese is located on indigenous lands within the Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 territories of the Alexander First Nation (Cree), Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation (Stoney), Enoch Cree Nation (Cree), Ermineskin Cree Nation (Cree), Louis Bull Tribe (Cree), Montana First Nation (Cree), O’Chiese First Nation (Western Ojibwa/Anishinaabe Saulteaux), Paul First Nation (Cree/Stoney), Samson Cree Nation (Cree), Sunchild First Nation (Cree) and the homeland of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
The Archdiocese is led by His Grace, Archbishop Richard Smith, who serves as our Archdiocesan Administrator until he is installed as Archbishop of Vancouver, likely in late May. He serves together with the assistance of key advisors, vicars, pastors and lay people appointed to specific areas of administrative or pastoral oversight.
The Archdiocese includes 97 parishes with resident priests in cities, towns, rural areas and indigenous communities, and another 19 parishes and missions without resident priests. Every Sunday, Mass is celebrated in the Archdiocese in multiple languages, including English, French, Cree, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Croatian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Italian, Hungarian, Korean, Latin, Sudanese, and American Sign Language.
Our Numbers
Population of Archdiocese: 1,981,575
- 495,393 Catholics, as self-identified in last federal census
- 74,329 families registered with a parish in the Archdiocese
- 219,002 family members in those parishes
Parishes and Missions: 115
- 97 Parishes with resident priests
- 18 Parishes without resident priests
Priests: 140
Permanent Deacons: 44
Religious Sisters: 131
Religious Brothers: 5
Members of Lay Institutes: 4
Lay Missionaries: 17
Seminarians: 13
Seminary: 1
- 31 Seminarians
Colleges: 2
- serving 2097 students
Catholic Schools: 204
- serving 92,593 students
Hospitals: 6
Homes for the aged, chronically ill, invalid and handicapped: 45
- serving approx. 2122 persons annually
Shelters & Services supporting the general protection of life and family:
- approx. 102 centres serving approx. 407,000+ persons annually
- This includes organizations that deal with supports for vulnerable persons and families (couples, single parents, child welfare, domestic violence, drug rehabilitation, immigrants, the poor and needy, etc.)