An estimated 250,000 Catholics in Alabama lost their spiritual leader early Monday with the death of Pope Francis.

AL.com reported that Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile called the pontiff, “a man of humility and compassion” in a statement released after his death was announced by the Vatican.

“[Francis] was a remarkable leader who devoted his life to service of God and neighbor,” Rodi’s statement read in part. “He was constant in urging the nations of the world to strive for peace.”

Although not one of the state’s largest denominations, Catholic congregations in Alabama are estimated to number more than 150, with sizeable concentrations of the faithful in most of the state’s large cities, according to the best available data on religious membership by geography.

Data on religious affiliation is less widely available than, for instance, Census data.

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The U.S. Census Bureau is prohibited by law from asking questions about religious affiliation in its decennial census. But once per decade since 1952, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies has conducted the U.S. Religion Census. Formal congregations are surveyed every 10 years, according to the organization, and religious communities without a national headquarters are contacted directly.

Researchers request and report data including congregational counts, attendance and membership – all on a county level.

Rodi’s archdiocese is centered in the largest concentration of Catholics in Alabama.

The 2020 survey counted 162 Catholic congregations in Alabama and estimated church membership in the state at 249,650. Data from the Pew Research Center estimates about 73% of Alabama adults identify as Christians, meaning Catholics made up about 6.8% of Alabamians in 2020.

Catholics were counted in all but nine counties in the 2020 survey, with the largest counties for Catholic affiliation being Baldwin, at 13.6%, and Mobile, at 10.7%.

Those are the only two counties that top 10%, though the Huntsville and Birmingham metro areas are also home to sizable Catholic populations, according to the data.