Tragic news broke this month of an Italian Catholic priest who died by suicide. As a Catholic psychologist who works closely with seminarians and priests, I found the story especially troubling. The priest’s young age — just 35 years old — was jarring, and the grief expressed by his community made clear how deeply he was loved.

In the United States, suicide rates steadily climbed over the past two decades, with a brief dip in 2018-2019. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 triggered a wave of mental-health problems, contributing to record-high deaths by suicide in 2023 and 2024.

The exact suicide rate among Catholic priests in the United States is not known, though we know anecdotally that American priests have died by suicide. Thankfully, there do not appear to be any alarming trends or a suicide crisis among the U.S. presbyterate. Still, priests often fit the profile of individuals at higher risk to think about suicide and to act on those thoughts — adult, single men who live alone — and they face distinct stressors that may darken their mental health. 

For example, in a study that I conducted with priests, many talked about a “Messiah Complex” — the irrational belief that they need to save everyone and fix every situation in a parish. Similarly, priests in my clinical practice often express feeling an immense pressure to be perfect. 

The combined weight of the Messiah Complex and unrealistic perfectionism can be extremely burdensome to priests. Not surprisingly, priests are known to experience the “common colds” of mental-health concerns — burnout, depression, alcohol misuse and anxiety. 

Suicidal ideation emerges when people do not see another way out of their problems and distress. They have exhausted their coping skills and want to escape. Their ability to solve problems and see alternatives is impaired. 

People lose hope when they cannot see a way to escape their pain or to solve their problem. Hopelessness sets in — understood in psychology as unchangeable negative expectations about the future and a judgment that problems can’t be solved. 

Recent psychological research has found that hopelessness is a strong predictor of suicidal thoughts, intentions and attempts. Surprisingly, even to me, the study found that hopelessness is an even stronger predictor of suicidality than depression. Such research calls to mind words that Pope St. John Paul II said to youth in 1987:

We cannot live without hope. We have to have some purpose in life, some meaning to our existence. We have to aspire to something. Without hope, we begin to die.

Why might a Catholic priest feel hopeless? The priesthood in the United States is graying and, in some places, shrinking. Younger priests are often given more responsibilities than what is developmentally appropriate and tasked with addressing more complex problems in their parishes. 

For example, many dioceses are merging and closing parishes due to a shortage of priests. The merger process itself can be extremely challenging, leaving priests caught between diocesan directives and parishioner outrage. Moreover, priests continue to minister in the unrelenting shadow of the sexual abuse crisis. Even the best, healthiest and happiest priests I know still have some anxiety about being one wrong move — or misperception — away from being removed from ministry, and that any given day could bring a negative headline about the Church to their newsfeed. Some priests may be asking themselves: Is this ever going to get better? 

Psychological research is also very clear about hope. Consistent with Catholic teaching, psychology regards hope as a virtue that prevents discouragement and stimulates coping with stress through motivated actions toward a better goal. 

Simply put by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, hope “sustains us during times of abandonment” (1818). It is important to understand hope through Catholic anthropology. God creates us in his image and likeness. We are good, with inherent dignity and worth. God created us and “placed on our hearts” an inherent desire for eternal life and happiness. In other words, we are uniquely designed and created by our Creator to be hopeful and happy people. As a cardinal virtue, hope requires daily practice and is not simply magical thinking that everything will work out. 

Clinically, I see the inherent desire for life and happiness re-emerge with the right assessment and intervention techniques. Time and again, patients in their darkest hours have drawn upon their faith for resilience and a reason to keep living. Priests need hope. We need priests to keep living. Drawing upon faith and hope can unlock what psychologists refer to as “pathway and agency thinking.” 

Pathways thinking is a person’s ability to identify solutions to problems with a sense of confidence. Agency thinking spurs motivation and energy toward problem-solving. For a priest who feels hopeless and sees no other solutions, these modes of thinking are great antidotes. Yet, priests cannot just think themselves out of despair. 

Priests often need to be reminded about the significance of community and fraternity in their lives. Father Carter Griffin, in his book Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest, noted that priests can limit their social involvement because of a “bachelor’s lifestyle.” They get used to living alone. 

Priests I work with know that I will ask them about how they are nurturing four types of relationships in their life: their relationships with God, at least one other brother priest, a friend who is not a priest, and a family member. Each of those relationships contributes to a system of support for priests. 

Priests need supportive, satisfactory, meaningful connections in all four types of relationships. Sadly, in every story of a priest suicide, the priest dies alone. 

When I assess a patient for suicide risk, social withdrawal and isolation is at the top of my warning list. Therefore, establishing social connection, involvement and support is a top priority. The importance of social support for priests has been recognized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a recent roundtable discussion about clergy mental health. No man is an island, including a priest. 

Priest support groups can be helpful, but the empirical and anecdotal support of such groups is mixed. Research has found that clergy support groups are best when there is a trained facilitator, a clear structure, and established norms for healthy group dynamics. Unfortunately, I have heard from priests who say their experience with such support groups did more harm than good. I have seen firsthand how a gathering of priests can devolve into complaining about Church politics rather than elevating each other through encouraging fraternity. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to present at a priest convocation in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. I spent a week with a group of 100 priests. We prayed together, ate together, learned together, had refreshments together, and watched the Oklahoma City Thunder win an important playoff basketball game together. 

I witnessed the joy they had laughing and talking with each other. Fraternity was alive and well among that group of priests. The importance of their mental health was discussed without stigma or shame. The vicar of clergy was transparent about the resources available to priests, including a trusted referral list of mental-health professionals and financial coverage of those services by the archdiocese. Such efforts underscore the importance of a positive diocesan culture that supports priests’ mental health. 

When a priest dies by suicide, it impacts the entire community. Thus, priests need help from their entire community to flourish while living out their vocation and ministry.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, help is available. You can reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by dialing 988 or the Catholic Crisis Hotline at 888-808-8724.