A report from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) is shedding light on the Mass attendance tendencies of US adults. The data, pulled from Catholic dioceses annually in October, showed that rates of Mass attendance have returned to levels not seen since 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
CARA recently shared a graph of its findings on its research blog, 1964, named for the year of its founding.
In 2019, weekly Mass attendance was averaging 24.4% of Catholics, but this fell significantly. From the beginning of the lockdown era, March 2020, until its declared end in 2023, Mass attendance averaged around 15%, with the earliest part of the pandemic falling below 10%.
Since 2023, the Catholic Church in the United States has seen the pendulum swing, returning the average rate of Mass attendance to 24%. This is up 1% from 2024, according to a Gallup survey, which noted a decline in the weekly worship attendance of all faith groups.
CARA’s data shows that Mass attendance for Christmas 2024 was the first time the holiday Mass reached 2019 levels. Easter and Ash Wednesday Masses had largely returned to normal in 2023, but CARA noted that it will keep track of 2025 numbers to see if the trend has continued.
Go out and welcome
This national average lines up nearly perfectly with data from the Diocese of Arlington, which has seen rates return from 17% in 2023 and 23% in 2024. Catholic Herald reports that Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington expressed his gratitude for the return of 2019 numbers and remarked that it was unexpected. He said that it’s not just the October count that shows an increase in attendance, but that he notices more Catholics in the pews at every church he visits.
“At the same time, we are humbly acknowledging that 70 percent of Catholics in our diocese are not actively engaged on a consistent basis,” Bishop Burbidge said. “It doesn’t mean they don’t go to church once in a while, or that they’re not trying to live their vocation or do great things. But the reality is we have to, in the words of Pope Francis, become missionary disciples. We have to go out and welcome and invite and evangelize.”
In the same report, Father Thomas P. Ferguson, pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, explained that he had also seen promising growth in both Mass attendance and parish registrations. He attributes the return of 2019 numbers to new religious education programs the parish has begun to offer before Mass.
