Sixty-two parishes in the Perth Archdiocese had less Catholics in 2011 than they did in 2001, while only 20 metropolitan parishes have increased in size.
St Joseph Pignatelli Parish in Attadale witnessed the largest increase, rising from 33.9 per cent in 2001 to 38 per cent in 2011.
Parish priest since 2006, Fr Sean Fernandez, said the rise in Catholics in the area presented an exciting opportunity.
“We continually have new people appearing at Mass and we seek to make them welcome and to help them connect with other members of the parish community,” he said.
“I believe that our Catholic schools account for the high percentage of Catholics in the area.
“Mel Maria Catholic Primary School and Santa Maria College have excellent reputations and families move into the suburb so that they are close to the schools.”
However, the decrease in metropolitan Perth has not been mirrored in the rural parishes that belong to the Archdiocese.
In the past ten years, 46 per cent of rural parishes in the Archdiocese of Perth have seen an increase in the percentage of Catholics.
The largest increase occurred at Kellerberrin, where 19.9 per cent of the population are Catholic – a rise of more than three per cent since 2001. The rural parishes of Corrigin and Gingin-Chittering also experienced a significant rise.
Parish priest of St Therese’s Catholic church in Corrigin, Fr Sebastian Fernando, said there were several reasons why rural parishes had maintained their numbers while metropolitan parishes were unable to.
“The Catholic population here in the country are farming people. The farmers don’t move unless something tragic happens,” he said.
“Their livelihood is here … so the families stay put.
“People in their retirement also come back to their farms and live here, and the lifestyle is much cheaper than in the metropolitan area.”
On average, each of the 109 parishes in the Archdiocese decreased in size by about one per cent between 2001 and 2011.
The suburbs of Hamilton Hill, Bentley and Osborne Park suffered the largest decreases over the 10-year period.