St. Thomas More Parish in Paducah welcomes 18 into the Catholic Church during their April 4 Easter Vigil liturgy. “It was beautiful!” said parish administrative assistant Jill Langston. COURTESY OF ST. THOMAS MORE PARISH
Easter boom: US dioceses say rise in new Catholics may point to regional ‘revivals’
BY KIMBERLEY HEATHERINGTON, OSV NEWS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (OSV News) – Several U.S. dioceses and archdioceses reported an uptick in adults joining the Catholic Church at Easter, with some dioceses saying they are seeing “record” numbers. That tracks with 2023 and 2024, which also saw increases over the previous year. Sherry Anne Weddell, an expert in Catholic evangelization, said that the “high point” of adult Catholics joining the Catholic Church in the U.S. was in 1999, with 172,000 adult baptisms and receptions, followed by decline. But she has been watching the upswing. “There was significant growth between 2023 and 2024,” she told OSV News. And while the data for 2025 and 2026 have yet to be published, “the numbers that are being reported are getting bigger and bigger.” Increases in this year’s enrollment in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults have been noted across the country, from Boston to Portland, Oregon, and Newark, New Jersey, to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
At St. Joseph Parish in Bowling Green, 45 people enter the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil on April 4. In this photo, Dcn. Larry Conder is seen with the new Paschal Candle, from which all of the congregants’ candles will be lit, symbolizing the light of Christ. COURTESY OF ST. JOSEPH PARISH
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University counseled that reports of increased numbers of converts are still at this point anecdotal. The nation’s nearly 200 dioceses and archdioceses will not begin formally reporting 2025 sacramental data until early 2026, and those figures will only be publicly available with the release of the 2026 Official Catholic Directory later this year. And yet, “There’s this growth in the numbers,” affirmed Weddell, who visits dioceses from coast to coast. “Many of the parishes I’ve talked to say, ‘Yeah, we’re seeing it – in our own small way.’”
Thirty-four people, along with their sponsors, are confirmed by Fr. Josh McCarty, pastor of St. Leo Parish in Murray, during the April 4, 2026, Easter Vigil. This is almost triple the number from 2025, which saw 13 candidates and catechumens last year. COURTESY OF ST. LEO PARISH
