Australia is in the midst of a "second spring" of faith as the number of people joining the Church continues to rise for the last half-decade, said Archbishop Anthony Fisher, O.P.
Fisher is the archbishop of Sydney, Australia.
Speaking to the Sydney Catholic Business Network on May 30, Fisher noted that the Archdiocese of Sydney has experienced a 26% growth in the number of adult converts for the fifth year in a row.
“These aren’t just people raised Catholic who are returning — but individuals from diverse backgrounds who are encountering the faith for the first time and finding something deeply compelling,” he explained.
There is “a genuine hunger for spiritual meaning in an increasingly fragmented world," he said, and people are finding that meaning in the Catholic faith.
Bishop Richard Umbers, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Sydney, told Aleteia he has his own theories as to why number of converts and the overall embrace of the Catholic faith has been on the rise in Australia.
"There’s an openness to question what one thinks and believes. Perhaps due to the experience of COVID and now tough economic times," he said.
In addition to the number of baptisms, there has also been an increase in church attendance, enrollments in faith-based schools, and "positive comments by politicians" relating to religious faith, said Umbers.
"The authenticity of faith communities in prayer and tradition is a real discovery," he said, adding, "much as the then-Fr. Ratzinger had predicted would happen."
Australia is not the only area seeing an increasing number of adults joining the Catholic Church. This past Easter, England and France also baptized record-high numbers of adults.
In England, the number of Catholics is set to exceed the number of Anglicans (Church of England) for the first time since the Church of England was founded.
