The Theatines: a numerical overview
August 07, 2026
Today is the optional memorial of St. Cajetan (1480-1547), cofounder of the Congregation of Clerics Regular (Theatines).
According to the online edition of the Annuario Pontificio, the institute had 166 members, 130 of them priests, in 2024. Founded and approved in 1524, the Theatines have 33 religious houses.
The Catholic Encyclopedia noted in 1912 that the Theatines had produced “one pope, Paul IV (Giovanni Pietro Carafa), 250 bishops, archbishops, and papal legates,” and nine cardinals. Membership declined precipitously from 1,205 in 1963, to 309 in 1966, to 191 in 1971. Since that time, membership has been steady, with a high of 203 (2007) and a low of 156 (2020).
Our Lady of Purity Theatine Province is based at St. Andrew Avellino Seminary in Denver, Colorado. According to The Official Catholic Directory, the province has 23 priests, four deacons, one novice, two postulants, and three parishes. Theatines minister in the Archdiocese of Denver and in the Dioceses of Columbus, Ohio, and Pueblo, Colorado.
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