Catholicism in France has been in decline for decades, but Pope Leo XIV will encounter a very different challenge during his September visit to the nation long considered “the eldest daughter of the church,” namely, how to respond to a surge of young people seeking to join its ranks.
Whether wavering or well-founded, the narrative of a Catholic revival has taken hold in France. Dioceses across the country are reckoning with how to accompany a new subset of Catholics that have a distinct vision of the faith and relationship with the church unlike that of the cradle Catholics they have previously known.
The numbers themselves tell a clear story of a surge in renewed Catholic interest.
Whereas government data showed a precipitous drop in the rate of French adults under 50 identifying as Catholic from 2009 to 2020 — from 43% to 25% — the French church has been bucking that trend in more recent years.
The number of adult baptisms in France hovered around 4,000 a year between 2015 and 2022. That number rose to 5,463 in 2023, then ballooned to 7,135 in 2024. By last year, it had shot up to 10,384, with the sharpest increase among adults 18 to 25.
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With thanks to National Catholic Reporter and Justin McLellan, where this article originally appeared.
