LONDON dioceses are bucking the trend of declining Mass attendance across England and Wales, new figures show, writes James Macintyre.
Average Sunday Mass attendance in the Archdiocese of Westminster climbed from 153,800 in 2011 to 154,900 in 2012, and in the Archdiocese of Southwark from 91,900 to 92,100 over the same period, according to the latest statistics compiled by Anthony Spencer of the Pastoral Research Centre Trust.
The modest rise in the two London dioceses, which may partly be due to an increased number of Catholic immigrants in the capital, stands out against a general decline in Mass attendance.
In 2001, there were 985,000 people attending Mass weekly in England and Wales. That number fell by 12.2 per cent by 2011, to 864,600, preceding a further decline of nearly 2 per cent to 849,200 in 2012.
The 2001 figure represents the equivalent of 24.6 per cent – just under a quarter – of baptised Catholics. That percentage fell to just over 20 per cent in 2011 and 2012.
Mr Spencer pointed out that “for the most of the period [2001-12] there was heavy net immigration of Catholics from the European Union”.
Despite this, Mr Spencer’s figures also show a decline in the Catholic population, which he says must have been in part due to “considerable alienation” among baptised Catholics.
The fresh research, based on the best available official church statistics, does not include figures for 2013, during which, in March, Pope Francis was elected. Research from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in September suggested that the election of Francis had led to an increase in numbers going to confession, for example.
The figures also show a small rise in the number of Catholic marriages, including those where one spouse is not Catholic.
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