What does a priest do?
Priest responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real priest resumes:
- Lead Jr and Sr high youth ministries.
- Commence a teleconference prayer program to serve church members and the community.
- Engage and encourage urban working class congregation through preaching, prayer and share community service.
- Participate in all phases of parish life in assignments in inner city, suburban, and rural parishes.
- Serve, support and encourage the pastoral leadership by providing oversight of the spiritual health and care of the church body.
- Develop and participate in leadership workshops for new leaders and assist new leaders in assuming leadership responsibilities.
- Review purchases and spending trends to identify opportunities for better stewardship and discipleship.
Priest skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Priests are proficient in Pastoral Care, Spiritual Care, and Educational Programs.
We break down the percentage of Priests that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Pastoral Care, 28%
Travel to the homes of the church members of all congregations to provide in-home Pastoral care and counseling.
- Spiritual Care, 13%
Provided spiritual care for patients, families and staff; including the overseeing of spiritual services for assigned clinical units.
- Educational Programs, 7%
Designed, organized, and directed religious educational programs in the context of fulfilling pastoral, pedagogical, and administrative ministries.
- Financial Statements, 6%
Developed reports for financial statements.
- CPE, 6%
Completed additional CPE units at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke Medical Center to meet national standard for certification.
- Spiritual Support, 5%
Provided spiritual support and guidance to hospital staff as requested.
Most priests use their skills in "pastoral care," "spiritual care," and "educational programs" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential priest responsibilities here:
The three companies that hire the most priests are:
- Trinity Health3 priests jobs
- Prime Healthcare2 priests jobs
- Les Schwab Tire Centers1 priests jobs
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Compare different priests
Priest vs. Chaplain
The word chaplain is originally referred to as representatives of the Christian faith. In tradition, a chaplain is a cleric or formal leader with an established religion or any non-ordained members of religious institutes. Chaplains now are diverse in terms of faith and often serve various constituencies. Chaplains are professionally trained and certified to provide spiritual guidance in a clinical setting to individuals who has issues with meaning, hope, and transcendence or any specific life circumstances it may be. They offer reflective listening and non-judgmental emotional and inner comfort in various settings, including the military, parishes, hospitals, prisons, universities, and schools.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between priests and chaplain. For instance, priest responsibilities require skills such as "educational programs," "financial statements," "catholic church," and "spiritual ministry." Whereas a chaplain is skilled in "patients," "social work," "clinical pastoral," and "patient care." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Chaplains earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $58,864. On the other hand, priests are paid more in the non profits industry with an average salary of $34,725.The education levels that chaplains earn slightly differ from priests. In particular, chaplains are 5.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a priest. Additionally, they're 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Priest vs. Hospital chaplain
A Hospice Chaplain provides care and comfort to patients nearing the end of life because of terminal illnesses. They collaborate with the community and the care team to ensure that care is in accord with the patient's faith.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that priest responsibilities requires skills like "educational programs," "financial statements," "prayer," and "catholic church." But a hospital chaplain might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "clinical pastoral," "patient care," and "ministry."
In general, hospital chaplains achieve higher levels of education than priests. They're 8.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Priest vs. Elder
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, priests are more likely to have skills like "spiritual care," "educational programs," "financial statements," and "cpe." But a elder is more likely to have skills like "vital signs," "blood pressure," "caregiver," and "home maintenance."
Most elders achieve a lower degree level compared to priests. For example, they're 19.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Priest vs. Hospice chaplain
Even though a few skill sets overlap between priests and hospice chaplains, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a priest might have more use for skills like "financial statements," "spiritual support," "prayer," and "catholic church." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hospice chaplains require skills like "patients," "home health," "clinical pastoral," and "patient care. "
The average resume of hospice chaplains showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to priests. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 11.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.1%.Types of priest
Updated January 8, 2025
