"Something amazing is happening in France, with all these young people asking to be baptized ... Perhaps this is a sign of a new springtime for the Church!" These words, spoken by a cardinal who was a close collaborator of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, reflect the astonishment in Rome at this resurgence, which is taking place not only in France but also in other Western nations.
On July 29, on the sidelines of the Youth Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV welcomed nearly 600 young catechumens and neophytes. Most of them came from France, but also from Switzerland and Austria. Rejoicing to see “young people who are committed to the faith and want to give meaning to their lives by letting themselves be guided by Christ and his Gospel,” the Pope alerted them that baptism “commits them to renounce a culture of death that is very present in our society.”
“The Pope told us to hold fast to our faith, even when it’s difficult. This moved us and strengthened us,” said Thipica, a young girl of Sri Lankan descent from the Paris region, who will be baptized at Easter 2026. She recounted that five people, from France and other countries, testified to their faith before the Pope. They described how they were able to “encounter God and live their journey of faith,” while the Pope and the cardinals present listened attentively.
Increased participation overall
Beyond the catechumenate itself, the sacramental participation of young people is growing rapidly, especially during this period of Lent. During his homily for Ash Wednesday Mass on February 18, Pope Leo XIV rejoiced that “even in secularized contexts, many young people, more than in the past, are open to the invitation of Ash Wednesday.”
He sees in them a source of inspiration for all because of their awareness that “it is possible to live a just lifestyle, and that there should be accountability for wrongdoings in the Church and in the world.”
“A sign of a new era”
Faced with this phenomenon, which is still difficult to decipher, many voices in Rome are eager to understand. “I believe this is a sign of a new era,” remarks Father Roberto Regoli, professor of contemporary history at the Pontifical Gregorian University and new president of the Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation.
“A renewed search for God is particularly evident among young people, and this search sometimes finds its way to the Catholic Church,” he says enthusiastically. “This phenomenon particularly affects Western societies that are strongly marked by secularization, such as France and Scandinavia,” notes the Italian priest, who comes from a country where the catechumenate remains a rare and almost unusual reality. The baptism of newborns remains the common practice there.
Father Regoli notes that for some young people, “spiritual searching can have a somewhat ‘supermarket’ feel to it at first, but the Church can offer structured answers.” The boom in catechumenate in France is in any case being observed with surprise and interest in Italy, and is nuancing the perception of a country obsessed with secularism and detached from any transcendence.
The historian recalls that a few years after the French Revolution, while traveling across France to attend Napoleon's coronation, Pope Pius VII was surprised by the popular devotion he observed along the way, describing “a country on its knees” in prayer. History is thus made up of cycles, which sometimes give way to an unexpected revival of religious traditions and identities.
Young conversions in the United States
France isn’t the only country to see a resurgence in the number of catechumens and, more broadly, in the participation of young people in sacramental and parish life. Father Regoli, currently a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, notes that 136 young people are in OCIA there.
The university is located in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, where 700 catechumens will be baptized at Easter. This figure represents a spectacular increase compared to previous years, in a territory with approximately 160,000 Catholics.
Young people in search of guidance and ideals express themselves openly in a context of religious and ideological pluralism. Even New York City, which has a reputation for being highly secularized, is seeing record numbers of converts. This is so notable that the New York Times has decided to launch, very discreetly, a newsletter dedicated to religious news.
A global awakening?
The number of baptisms of young people and adults is also increasing in the United Kingdom, in Ireland, and even in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany — countries that have been marked by radical secularization for several decades. One Irish bishop noted that, in today's transient and unstable world, young people are craving a Church that is a strong anchor, rather than one that tries to be too adaptable.
In Australia, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney has also noticed a rebound in young people's participation in sacramental life, as well as a clear increase in seminarian enrolment. Archbishop Fisher, who could be one of the next cardinals created by Leo XIV, hopes to welcome the pope to the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress.
This would highlight Australia as a model of dynamism, reflecting the vast expanses of the Pacific, which today constitute one of the main centers of growth for Christianity. Surprisingly, the world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia, is also one of the most dynamic in terms of religious vocations within the Catholic Church.
Something amazing is happening, indeed. All over the world, near and far, more and more young people are searching for God.
