Conversions and Receptions into the Church: A Look at the Numbers

In 1937, Fr. Edward Betowski, a professor at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York, published Spurs to Conversion, a compilation of weekly reflections encouraging priests to cultivate a missionary spirit in themselves and in their parishioners. Lamenting the “dry indifference towards the millions of unbelievers among whom we live,” he said that “it is sad to observe that there are large parishes where not one person is under instruction to be received into the Church.”

According to data published in the 2024 edition of The Official Catholic Directory, 619,775 people entered the Catholic Church in the Latin-rite dioceses of the United States during the previous year. The Directory classified 480,905 (77.6%) of them as infant baptisms, 58,628 (9.5%) as the baptisms of minors who are not infants, 29,752 (4.8%) as adult baptisms, and 50,490 (8.1%) as receptions into full communion.

In a previous article, I examined the first of the four categories and explored whether there is any correlation between birth rates in the nation’s states and infant baptism rates in the dioceses within those states.

In this article, I examine the other categories: the 58,628 non-infant minors and 29,752 adults who were baptized, and the 50,490 baptized non-Catholic Christians, whether adults or minors, who were received into full communion. These converts to the faith, and children of converts and reverts to the faith, were often influenced by a priest or parishioner with a missionary spirit.

The stories of these 138,870 souls are of course varied. Non-infant receptions into the Church include

• non-Christian adults who seek baptism after prayer and study
• baptized non-Catholic adults who enter into full communion after prayer and study
• teenagers and even pre-teens who, on their own initiative, seek baptism or entrance into full communion (the future Cardinal Wilton Gregory, for example, sought baptism when he was eleven years old)
• non-infant children who receive the Sacrament of Baptism when a non-Christian parent is baptized
• non-infant children who receive the Sacrament of Baptism after a Catholic parent returns to the practice of the faith
• baptized non-Catholic minors who enter into full communion at the same time as a non-Catholic parent

As varied as the stories of these 138,870 souls are, each one points to an extraordinary grace, such as the grace of a personal conversion that leads one to seek entry into the Church, or the grace of return to the practice of the faith that leads one to seek baptism for one’s non-infant children.

Definitions

In the Code of Canon Law’s treatment of the Sacrament of Baptism, any child who has not yet attained the use of reason, or any adult who is in a similar mental state (non sui compos), is classified as an infant (Canon 852). The same canon declares that “all those who, no longer infants, have attained the use of reason” fall under the canonical prescripts for adult baptism.

From the point of view of canon law, then, there are two categories of baptisms: infant baptisms (which take place before the age of reason) and adult baptisms (which take place beginning at the age of reason).

In discussions with diocesan officials, I found that dioceses do not follow uniform age criteria in reporting the baptisms of infants and of minors to The Official Catholic Directory. Some dioceses, consistent with the distinction in Canon 852, report baptisms of children under age seven as infant baptisms and children between the ages of seven and seventeen as minor baptisms. Other dioceses, more in line with the English usage of the word “infant,” report baptisms of children up until age one as infant baptisms and the baptisms of children between the ages of one and seventeen as minor baptisms.

All things being equal, then, dioceses that follow the canonical definition of infant in reporting their data to the Directory—the majority of dioceses in my limited sample—will necessarily have higher rates of infant baptisms and lower rates of minor baptisms. Likewise, dioceses that follow the English usage of the word “infant” will necessarily have lower rates of infant baptisms and higher rates of minor baptisms.

In addition, four of the nation’s dioceses reported no minor baptisms to the Directory, presumably because they strictly followed Canon 852’s distinction between infant baptisms and adult baptisms.

A forthcoming article will examine various indicators of diocesan health, including seminarian rates, marriage rates, infant baptism rates, and rates of non-infant receptions into the Church, thus equalizing the various ways dioceses classify baptisms when they report data to the Directory.

Non-infant receptions into the Church: numbers

With the caveat that dioceses do not uniformly follow the same age criteria in reporting the baptisms of minors, eleven dioceses had more than 2,000 non-infant receptions into the Church, according to the 2024 edition of the Directory.

• Galveston-Houston, TX: 9,489 (7,512 minor baptisms, 1,346 adult baptisms, 631 receptions into full communion)
• San Bernardino, CA: 7,095 (4,819 minor baptisms, 438 adult baptisms, 1,838 receptions into full communion)
• Los Angeles, CA: 5,249 (2,223 minor baptisms, 1,117 adult baptisms, 1,909 receptions into full communion)
• Phoenix, AZ: 4,427 (771 minor baptisms, 277 adult baptisms, 3,379 receptions into full communion)
• Boston, MA: 3,665 (2,668 minor baptisms, 715 adult baptisms, 282 receptions into full communion)
• Raleigh, NC: 3,476 (2,761 minor baptisms, 242 adult baptisms, 473 receptions into full communion)
• Chicago, IL: 2,880 (0 minor baptisms, 1,360 adult baptisms, 1,520 receptions into full communion)
• New York, NY: 2,709 (1,239 minor baptisms, 531 adult baptisms, 939 receptions into full communion)
• Orange, CA: 2,187 (483 minor baptisms, 612 adult baptisms, 1,092 receptions into full communion)
• Columbus, OH: 2,027 (1,013 minor baptisms, 786 adult baptisms, 228 receptions into full communion)
• Rockville Centre, NY: 2,006 (872 minor baptisms, 845 adult baptisms, 289 receptions into full communion)

Twenty-nine dioceses had between 1,000 and 2,000 non-infant receptions into the Church, forty-two had between 500 and 1,000 non-infant receptions, sixty-five had between 200 and 499 non-infant receptions, and twenty-three had between 100 and 200 non-infant receptions.

Seven dioceses had fewer than 100 non-infant receptions:

• Fairbanks, AK: 44 (24 minor baptisms, 8 adult baptisms, 12 receptions into full communion)
• Crookston, MN: 58 (17 minor baptisms, 10 adult baptisms, 31 receptions into full communion)
• Ogdensburg, NY: 85 (40 minor baptisms, 17 adult baptisms, 28 receptions into full communion)
• Lubbock, TX: 88 (46 minor baptisms, 33 adult baptisms, 9 receptions into full communion)
• Rapid City, SD: 95 (23 minor baptisms, 15 adult baptisms, 57 receptions into full communion)
• Marquette, MI: 96 (28 minor baptisms, 20 adult baptisms, 48 receptions into full communion)
• Altoona-Johnstown, PA: 98 (20 minor baptisms, 20 adult baptisms, 58 receptions into full communion)

Dioceses rich in conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church

In the typical (median) diocese in the United States (88th-ranked Charlotte), there is one non-infant reception into the Church for every 413 Catholics. The 10% of dioceses that are proportionally richest in conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church, according to statistics published in the Directory, are

• Raleigh, NC (1 non-infant reception for every 71 Catholics)
• Lexington, KY (1 for every 84 Catholics)
• Kansas City – St. Joseph, MO (1 for every 99 Catholics)
• Knoxville, TN (1 for every 108 Catholics)
• Tulsa, OK (1 for every 134 Catholics)
• Savannah, GA (1 for every 136 Catholics)
• Nashville, TN (1 for every 137 Catholics)
• Wichita, KS (1 for every 141 Catholics)
• Alexandria, LA (1 for every 142 Catholics)
• Baker, OR (1 for every 145 Catholics)
• Steubenville, OH (1 for every 158 Catholics)
• Jefferson City, MO (1 for every 159 Catholics)
• Anchorage-Juneau, AK (1 for every 159 Catholics)
• Pueblo, CO (1 for every 165 Catholics)
• Helena, MT (1 for every 166 Catholics)
• Birmingham, AL (1 for every 166 Catholics)
• Pensacola-Tallahassee, FL (1 for every 168 Catholics)

In general, smaller dioceses are more likely to attract proportionally higher numbers of conversions (and other non-infant receptions into the Church) than are larger dioceses. Of the fifty dioceses with the highest rates of non-infant receptions into the Church, forty-six have fewer than 250,000 Catholics.

Among the eighty-seven dioceses with above-average rates of non-infant receptions into the Church, only three have more than 500,000 Catholics: Galveston-Houston, TX (#23, 1.70 million Catholics), San Bernardino, CA (#30, 1.37 million Catholics), and Columbus, OH (#49, 505,000 Catholics). The median diocese (Charlotte, 545,000 Catholics), while 88th in the nation overall, ranks fourth among dioceses with 500,000 or more Catholics.

Dioceses with low rates of conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church

The 10% of dioceses that are proportionally poorest in conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church, according to data published in the Directory, are

• Newark, NJ (1 non-infant reception for every 2,448 Catholics)
• Allentown, PA (1 for every 1,995 Catholics)
• Brownsville, TX (1 for every 1,865 Catholics)
• Erie, PA (1 for every 1,595 Catholics)
• Lubbock, TX (1 for every 1,577 Catholics)
• Pittsburgh, PA (1 for every 1,399 Catholics)
• Norwich, CT (1 for every 1,393 Catholics)
• Fall River, MA (1 for every 1,346 Catholics)
• Portland, ME (1 for every 1,299 Catholics)
• Philadelphia, PA (1 for every 1,230 Catholics)
• Dallas, TX (1 for every 1,220 Catholics)
• Providence, RI (1 for every 1,205 Catholics)
• New York, NY (1 for every 1,203 Catholics)
• Albany, NY (1 for every 1,189 Catholics)
• El Paso, TX (1 for every 1,125 Catholics)
• Las Vegas, NV (1 for every 1,026 Catholics)
• Scranton, PA (1 for every 984 Catholics)

Two of the nation’s dioceses—Reno (#120) and Allentown (#175)—had no receptions into full communion, according to the 2024 edition of the Directory. While the Diocese of Reno did not respond to a request for comment, Lina Tavarez, the Allentown diocese’s executive director of communications, said that “we did not provide The Official Catholic Directory with the number of receptions into full communion with the Church for our diocese.”

“We had 342 receptions into full communion in 2023,” said Tavarez, and an additional 375 in 2024. Taking into account the non-reported receptions into full communion, the Diocese of Allentown would have had one non-infant reception into the Church for every 458 Catholics, a rank of #97.

In seeking insights into why dioceses have such disparate rates of conversions (and other non-infant receptions into the Church), I sought comment from over 10% of the nation’s dioceses, including dioceses with very high and very low rates. While none of the latter dioceses offered their insights, some of the dioceses with high rates did respond.

The Raleigh miracle

Three of the nation’s dioceses—Galveston-Houston, Raleigh, and San Bernardino—have higher numbers of minor baptisms than infant baptisms, according to the Directory. 

With such high numbers of non-infant minor baptisms, one might assume that these dioceses, in reporting data to the Directory, classified all baptisms between the ages of one and seventeen as minor baptisms, rather than following the (apparently) more common practice of classifying baptisms between the ages of seven and seventeen as minor baptisms. But that is not the case with Raleigh.

“We categorize infant baptism as those up to the age of seven, minor baptism as those between the ages of seven and seventeen, and adult baptism as those over eighteen,” said John Dornan, the diocese’s director of communications.

In the Diocese of Raleigh (map), over a thousand more children receive the Sacrament of Baptism between the ages of seven and seventeen (2,761) than in the years between birth and the age of six (1,730). This suggests particularly successful efforts to inspire non-practicing adults to return to the practice of the faith (and introduce their non-baptized older children to the sacraments), coupled with teen (and even pre-teen) conversions.

“It speaks to the good work that is being done in many parishes in bringing ‘culturally Catholic’ families back to the practice of their faith,” said Patrick Ginty, the diocese’s director of faith formation.

“It also has a lot to do with the tendency of Hispanic families to delay the baptism of their children,” he added. “Some wait so that their children receive all three sacraments of initiation at the same time (after the age of seven) or to allow family members from outside of the country to be present.”

Ginty offered insights into the adult baptisms and receptions into full communion that also contributed to the Diocese of Raleigh’s #1 ranking. Referring to the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), as well as its former name (RCIA), Ginty said:

A large percentage of the adults being baptized are culturally Catholic Hispanics (first-generation immigrants) who, for a plethora of reasons, are only now receiving their sacraments. Many of the Hispanic immigrants in our diocese come from very rural areas of Mexico and Central America, where access to the sacraments is very limited. RCIA/OCIA is growing in these communities especially among those who thought that they had missed their opportunity and now realize that it is not too late for them to receive their sacraments.

“There has also been an increase in Anglo conversions to the faith, mostly baptized Christians coming into full communion with the Church,” he continued. “There really is great evangelization occurring, especially online, where the conversation is taking [place] in podcasts, videos, debates, and discussions favoring Catholicism. It’s exciting to see the greater Church waking up and taking on the Great Commission of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“It is no secret that the Bible Belt is receiving an ever-increasing number of people from more traditionally Catholic areas like the U.S. Northeast and Rust Belt—not to mention Latin America—into these areas, which have historically not been very Catholic at all,” Ginty added. “This also creates an additional phenomenon of more Protestants coming into the Church in these areas through marriage with a Catholic.”

The Diocese of Raleigh’s ministry to non-baptized but culturally Catholic Hispanics is doubtless bolstered by the presence of Bishop Luis Zamara, who was born in Colombia. But Bishop Zamara is far from the only American bishop born outside the United States, and the Diocese of Raleigh is far from the only diocese with an active ministry to Latino Catholics. The reception of non-infants into the Church at a rate nearly six times that of the average American diocese suggests an extraordinary profusion of graces in eastern North Carolina, joined to efforts beyond the norm to reach the unbaptized—a Raleigh miracle, as it were.

Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph

Like the Diocese of Raleigh, the third-ranked Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph (map) classifies baptisms on the basis of the canonical definition. Father Ken Riley, the diocese’s vicar general for administration, chancellor, and judicial vicar, described the classification as “canonical ‘infants,’ birth to roughly seven (age of reason); minors, seven-ish to seventeen; adults, eighteen plus.”

“The fruit we are seeing here is first and foremost the work of God, who gives the growth,” said Bishop James Johnston. “But I also believe we have many patches of ‘good soil’ here—to borrow from the Lord’s parable—which helps.”

Bishop Johnston explained:

We have a growing number of intentional communities, some among young adults, some among groups of families, on our high school and college campuses, some among parishes, that support vibrant Catholic life and end up being the entry point for those who are searching or who are drawn to the joy and vitality they witness. Our diocese supports and fosters a missionary spirit that is Christ-centered and fed by the sacred liturgy and its beauty, which is appealing to many.

Marc Cardaronella, director of the diocese’s Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation, spoke about diocesan efforts to promote a culture of missionary discipleship.

“From the beginning of his episcopate, our current bishop has fostered efforts to develop a culture of missionary discipleship,” he said. “This is central to his mission, and he speaks about it often to parishioners and his clergy.”

“Vision statements can be just a slogan or they can be at the heart of culture change,” Cardaronella continued. “This was begun before his time here with a lay formation institute and more recently, under his direction, we implemented a diocesan-wide training process called Clear Path for Discipleship that makes parishes aware of the need for evangelization and helps them develop a parish ministry structure that leads to missionary discipleship.”

“There are many ways the Church in our area has been increasing the number of active, missionary disciples, but at the heart of this is more people willing to invite people in their lives to consider following Jesus in the Catholic Church,” he added.

“I don’t think it is possible to point to one thing that causes this higher-than-average percentage of conversions in relation to the number of Catholics, except perhaps the action of the Holy Spirit,” said Dino Durando, director of the diocese’s Marriage and Family Life Office. Nonetheless, “there are a number of things I’ve seen in my work in this area for almost fifteen years that could provide a fertile environment for conversions to be on the increase.”

The diocese is among the most wedding-rich in the United States, and “for many years, our marriage preparation has made an intentional effort to reach the non-Catholic person entering into interfaith and mixed marriages,” said Durando. “That’s about 40%-50% of weddings.”

“There is a noticeable expression of ecumenical friendships here that come from cooperation in outreach and ministry, especially in areas like sanctity of life, chastity, human trafficking, defense of the needs of the family, and dignity for immigrants and migrants,” he continued. “I have personal relationships with many people who have later converted, in part, because of friendships with Catholics who have been ‘in the trenches’ with them.”

“We are also blessed with many alumni from FOCUS, Saint Paul’s Outreach, Benedictine College, and our local young adult apostolate, City on a Hill,” he added. “These all contribute to the growing ranks of missionary disciples in our area.”

Durando concluded:

This is the key to long-term fruitfulness: more people who love Jesus so much that they habitually and intentionally invite other people to follow him more closely. I think we are just now seeing the first fruits of this approach and that even greater growth is possible in our diocese. However, I don’t think we have arrived yet at a culture of discipleship that will support this growth indefinitely. There is still a lot of work to be done!

Diocese of Tulsa

In submitting data to the Directory, the fifth-ranked Diocese of Tulsa (map) also classifies baptisms as “infant (up to age 7), “minor (between 8-17),” and “adult (18 and older),” said Chris Rush, diocesan communications director.

Bishop David Konderla linked the diocese’s success in attracting conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church to a “culture of invitation” in the eastern Oklahoma diocese and pointed to a recent YouTube video by Father Stuart Crevcoure as an example.

“I think that many of our parishes have created a culture of invitation,” he said. “They use everything from social media, to physical banners in front of the church, to forming people to make personal invitations to friends, family members, and others to come visit the parish or attend some function,” and “in that way to explore the faith.”

Asked about the prevalence of smaller dioceses among those with the proportionally highest numbers of conversions, Bishop Konderla commented:

I have often wondered if there is a correlation between a desire for a more traditional and rural lifestyle and choosing to live, or continue to live, in smaller, less populated places. Does this explain in part conversions in smaller dioceses? In smaller dioceses, Catholics are better able to form relationships that make [an] invitation easier to make, and easier for non-Catholics to consider.

Father Brian O’Brien, rector of Tulsa’s Holy Family Cathedral, said that “being a faithful Catholic in eastern Oklahoma is not easy.”

“If someone has lived here their whole life or moved here recently, one realizes quickly that Catholics are a small part of the population,” said Father O’Brien. “At the same time, when one visits a Catholic parish in eastern Oklahoma, they experience great faithfulness among the people and an evangelical spirit to know the Faith and share the Faith.”

“At Holy Family Cathedral, we had 90 individuals who became Catholic at Easter 2025 with another 70 in process for the fall,” he continued. “It’s beautiful to be a part of it. I attribute it to our people inviting their friends, co-workers, and neighbors and then accompanying them to Mass or the OCIA formation.”

In smaller dioceses, “I think we can be more nimble, more responsive, and with more personal attention for each person and their walk with the Lord,” he added. “Those who are becoming Catholic come from all walks of life. Many need annulments, most have big questions, and everyone is looking for community. In a smaller setting, all of those are more possible.”

Sarah Jameson, the diocese’s director of parish support, believes that the diocese’s relatively high rate of receptions into the Church “can only be attributed to the desire to have what we do not already possess: the true, the good, and the beautiful in the Catholic faith.”

“Dioceses that have a higher Catholic population often take for granted that everyone they encounter is Catholic,” she said. “Thus, they are less likely to be intentional about evangelization efforts.”

In dioceses like Tulsa, however, “the opposite is true. Parishes strive to be more intentional in evangelization and outreach efforts, recognizing both the secular and Protestant influences, especially in the buckle of the Bible Belt.”

Diocese of Wichita

Matt Vainer, the Diocese of Wichita’s director of communications, explained that the diocese reports baptisms to the Directory in the following way: “‘infant’ baptisms are 0-1,” while “minor baptisms are 1-7 and then 7+.”

In reporting data to the Directory in accord with the English usage of the word “infant,” the Diocese of Wichita (map) had a lower ranking in its rate of infant baptisms (#14) and a higher ranking in its rate of non-infant receptions into the Church (#8) than it would have if it had followed the canonical definition. The Diocese of Wichita is in the top 10% of the nation’s dioceses in both rankings.

“I feel that it is important to recognize that these numbers first and foremost manifest the grace of God at work,” said Father John Jirak, vicar general and moderator of the curia.

“Regarding the secondary influences that have led to these fruits, I believe we have received a great inheritance of rich soil as a stewardship diocese,” he continued (website, video, history). “This year, we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this way of life in the Diocese of Wichita and now enter our third generation of intentional, strategic stewardship.”

Father Jirak explained:

Building upon this foundation over the past five years, we have focused prayerfully, strategically, and with great intensity on evangelization and discipleship. This work has borne the fruit of many more lay Catholics feeling confident and passionate about sharing the faith and evangelizing family members, coworkers, and peers into the beauty of the Catholic Church. I believe that the programmatic approach to evangelization and discipleship is the major influencer leading to these numbers.

“A smaller diocese has the potential to be more personal, as our pastors can know many of their parishioners on an individual level,” he added. “Moreover, as part of our diocesan organizational clarity, we strategically anchor our decisions around encounter and relationship.”

“This intentional focus has allowed our parishes to grow into communities that feel like second families,” Father Jirak said. “The size of our diocese, the faithfulness of our laity, the number and quality of our priests, and our strategic conviction that ‘everything is relational’ have converged to create fertile ground for higher conversion rates.”

Diocese of San Bernardino

With one non-infant reception into the Church for every 193 Catholics, the Diocese of San Bernardino (map) ranks 30th in the nation overall and second among dioceses with more than 250,000 Catholics.

As mentioned previously, the diocese is one of three in the nation that reported more baptisms of minors than baptisms of infants. “In our reporting,” diocesan vice chancellor John Andrews explained, “we categorized infant baptisms as 0-11 months old. We categorized 1-7 years old as child baptisms, a subset of minor baptisms.”

Apart from its high number of baptisms of minors (4,819), the diocese reported 2,276 additional non-infant receptions into the Church: 438 adult baptisms and 1,838 receptions into full communion. Even apart from minor baptisms, and looking solely at the other categories, the Diocese of San Bernardino bats above its weight: it ranks ninth in the nation in Catholic population (1.37 million), but fourth in the nation in combined adult baptisms and receptions into full communion (2,276).

Consulting with Dr. Amanda Alexander, the director of the diocese’s Ministry Formation Institute and Office of Catechetical Ministry, Andrews said that “the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults programs in our diocese are gaining in their effectiveness in being able to welcome families who wish to have their children receive the Sacrament of Baptism when they are still minors.”

“They are able to enter this program from the age of 7 on,” he explained. “I’m not sure if other dioceses are able to provide non-infant minor baptisms through their RCIA or OCIA programs, but our parishes are quite proactive and well-formed in how to do this now.”

“Anecdotally, the urgency and stability among families to have their children baptized as infants seems to have diminished somewhat,” said Andrews. “Reasons for delaying baptism could be anything from difficulty finding godparents, to, in some cases, irregular marital status of the parents, to the desire of some families to wait until the child is old enough to receive several sacraments at once (as a matter of convenience).”

Nonetheless, “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in refocusing some families on the fragility of life and the importance of faith perhaps restored some urgency, leading many to seek the Sacrament of Baptism for their children when they otherwise may not have,” he said.

Andrews also spoke of “the synodal disposition of the Diocese of San Bernardino, to listen to families who are coming to the Church with a belated desire for their children to be baptized, not judging them but meeting them where they are and welcoming them through our OCIA programs or through our child baptism process at the parishes.”

“I cannot speak to how this is done in other dioceses, but we are very intentional about bringing our young families and their children into the life of the Church through the beauty of the sacraments, beginning with baptism,” he said.

Ambient Catholic culture

In a previous article on diocesan marriage rates, I found that the relation between state marriage rates and the rates of marriages in the dioceses within those states is less strong than one might expect. Likewise, in a previous article on infant baptism rates, I found that the relation between state birth rates and the rates of infant baptism in the dioceses within those states is less strong than one might expect.

Is there any relation between ambient Catholic culture and rates of conversion (and other non-infant receptions)? Are non-Catholics, including unbaptized older children, more likely to enter the Church in the less Catholic areas of the country, where the sight of ashes on foreheads on Ash Wednesday is far less common, but Catholic identity is perhaps stronger? Or are non-Catholics more likely to enter the Church in the more Catholic areas of the country, where they are more likely to have Catholic friends, relatives, neighbors, and colleagues?

According to statistics published in the Directory, the dioceses with the highest rates of non-infant receptions into the Church tend to be located in some of the least Catholic areas of the country. The Diocese of Raleigh is located in an area that is 4.7% Catholic; the Diocese of Lexington, in an area that is 2.4% Catholic; the Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph, in an area that is 7.1% Catholic.

The same can be said for the territories of the other dioceses among the ten highest rates of non-infant receptions into the Church: the Dioceses of Knoxville (2.9% Catholic), Tulsa (3.5% Catholic), Savannah (2.7% Catholic), Nashville (3.9% Catholic), Wichita (10.9% Catholic), Alexandria (9.6% Catholic), and Baker (6.3% Catholic) are not located in heavily Catholic areas of the nation.

On the other hand, the ten dioceses with the lowest rates of non-infant receptions into the Church tend to be located in areas with an average or above-average percentage of Catholics. The Archdiocese of Newark is located in an area that is 33.4% Catholic; the Diocese of Brownsville, in an area that is 85.0% Catholic; the Diocese of Erie, in an area that is 24.0% Catholic.

The same can be said for the dioceses that round out the bottom ten: the Dioceses of Lubbock (26.1% Catholic), Pittsburgh (31.7% Catholic), Norwich (34.1% Catholic), Fall River (29.4% Catholic), and Portland, Maine (21.0% Catholic) are located in areas with an average or above-average percentage of Catholics.

Nonetheless, a heavy Catholic presence in an area does not predestinate a diocese to ranking in the bottom 10% in its rate of conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church. The Diocese of Laredo, Texas, is located in an area that is 91.0% Catholic, yet it has a rate of conversions and other non-infant receptions into the Church that is over triple that of the Archdiocese of Newark.