Welcome home! A record number of converts to enter the Church this Easter

The numbers are in, and they are staggering. Across the United States and around the world, the number of converts entering the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil is at record highs.

Shane Schaetzel, writing in Catholic Online News, reports that adult conversions here in the U.S. have reached numbers not seen for 20 years. One diocese after another confirms that: In Detroit, more than 1,400 are coming into the Church–the highest number in two decades. National Catholic Register staff reporter Matthew McDonald summarized some of the notable increases, including St. Petersburg, FL (with an 84% increase), Austin, TX (53%), Harrisburg, PA (77%), Altoona-Johnstown, PA (84%), Pueblo, CO (105%), and Norwich, CT (with a 112% spike).

The good news continues. Writing for Zeale, Elizabeth Weiss reports that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will welcome 8,500 new Catholics at the Easter Vigil.

Lest readers think that this is purely an American phenomenon, we must consider similar news from around the world. In England, an encouraging report comes from Westminster, where 800 people will enter the Church this year, a 60% increase from last year.

In Nottingham, England, the diocese will welcome 249 converts, the highest number in forty years. London is seeing a 60% increase over last year.

In Dublin, Ireland—once considered a Catholic hot spot—the Faith has been waning. But the 129 adults who will enter the Church at Dublin’s St. Mary’s Cathedral are, in fact, the largest number of converts in recent history.

Belgium’s 689 adult converts represent a 30% increase from last year and a 300% increase from ten years ago.

The encouraging reports continue. In Australia, the Archdiocese of Sydney compares the current year’s new Catholics with the number recorded just one year ago. Sydney claims a one-year increase of 35% more catechumens awaiting baptism, and a 95% increase in candidates for full communion.

And Melbourne’s 550 entering Catholics represent a 57% increase from last year.

Truly, the Holy Spirit has been at work in the world.

As new Catholics show up in the pews on Sunday morning, we should make them feel welcome, offering a warm smile, a handshake, an after-Mass conversation over donuts or in the parking lot. Perhaps you can point them to the parish library, recommending books that have been particularly helpful in your own walk of faith.

But there’s more. Many of those “new” Catholics have passed through OCIA classes and have learned the basics of the Faith. Ours is a rich and complex religion. The new Catholics (and the rest of us) can benefit from additional classes and presentations, delving into stories of saints, eras of Church history, and various practices. They may appreciate an invitation to join the Rosary Guild or the Knights of Columbus. If they’ve brought children with them into the Church, those children can be introduced to Catholic playmates their own age.

Above all, let us continue to hold in prayer our newest Catholic friends, praying that God will lead them to the people who can help the most as they, along with us, grow closer to Christ day by day.