ERIE, Pa. - Catholics in Mercer County are coming back to church following a decline in mass attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s based on information from the Erie Diocese which requires every parish to track Mass attendance for four weeks each October.

Ushers and volunteers count the number of parishioners each Sunday during the period.

The tabulation for 2022 shows the overall percentage of people attending mass grew by an average of 6.9% in the Diocese this year.

However, the attendance trend since 2014 is still down 45 percent.

Eleven churches in Mercer County which is in the Sharon Deanery had an increase of 11.8% between 2021 and 2022. 

During the pandemic, Mass attendance fell nearly 33% from 2019 to 2021 in the Sharon Deanery.

According to the Diocese, the most recent figures still fall far short of pre-pandemic numbers.

In March 2020, Bishop Lawrence Persico granted dispensation to members of the Diocese who decided not to attend Mass as part of several health measures during the pandemic.

Dispensation was lifted in July of the following year as more people became vaccinated.