Odds are rising that in the coming years, the priest at the neighborhood parish will have roots in Mexico or Vietnam and the sister working at the local health clinic will be dressed in a habit.

The newest and next generation of priests, brothers, sisters and nuns who belong to Roman Catholic religious orders in the U.S. are more ethnically diverse and tradition-bound than their predecessors, according to a new portrait of Catholic religious life released Tuesday.

The underlying numbers remain dire. Most religious orders in the U.S. suffer from aging membership, diminishing numbers and few if any new candidates, according to the study conducted by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate for the National Religious Vocation Conference.

The report confirmed what many have speculated: The few orders that are attracting and retaining younger members are more traditional. That generally means fidelity to the church and members who live together, take part in daily devotions together and explicitly choose religious orders that require habits.

The familiar white and black habit of nuns teaching elementary school or the robes worn by some fathers and brothers were shed by many orders as remnants of clericalism in the last 40 or 50 years, but a younger generation sees them as tangible displays of their faith and symbols of fidelity to church and community.

"This younger generation is seeking an identity, a religious identity as well as a Catholic identity," said Brother Paul Bednarczyk, executive director of the Chicago-based National Religious Vocation Conference, a professional organization of Catholic religious vocation directors. "Symbolism, images and ritual is all very important to this generation, and they want to give witness to their faith."

The study focused on members of religious orders — such as the Jesuits and Franciscans — and did not cover diocesan priests, who outnumber religious order priests in the U.S. 2-to-1.

The study identified at least 2,630 men and women in the early stages of joining an order. The growing ethnic diversity of that group reflects shifts in immigration patterns in the U.S.:

Of those now in training to join an order, about 58 percent are white, 21 percent are Hispanic, 14 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, and 6 percent are African or African-American, the study found. That stands in contrast to the current 94 percent white ethnic makeup of religious orders.