Catholic Programs Serving the Colorado Community: An Economic Report of the Catholic Church in Colorado
The Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies is proud to offer this report that highlights the economic impact of the Catholic Church in the state of Colorado. In this report, we estimate that the Catholic community-serving organizations within the Archdiocese of Denver, Diocese of Pueblo, and Diocese of Colorado Springs generate $4.8 billion annually in economic activity to the state of Colorado while serving an estimated 609,000 Coloradans.
This report illustrates how the Catholic Church in Colorado and the programs derived from it provide amplifier benefits for their surrounding communities, including capital campaigns and tourism for Catholic pilgrimage sites and events, whose combined attendance was nearly 750,000 and provided a “magnet effect” of over $31 million in 2019 alone.
By the end of this report, we hope it becomes clear that the Catholic Church is an invaluable asset to the state of Colorado and the communities it serves in all facets of life from conception until natural death, including education, housing, mental health support, healthcare, social services, nutrition services, and ‘magnet’ effects that support local and statewide economies alike.
Our thanks go to Dr. Anna B. Faria and Dr. Grant Clayton of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Dr. Gary W. Ritter of St. Louis University, for their work in authoring this report. We also thank Stephen P. Patterson for commissioning this report, and the Colorado Catholic Conference for spearheading the logistics of this project.