French Church ponders response to record Easter baptisms

‘Our entire parish communities must become aware of this collective mission and integrate them, both before and after baptism.’

The French Church hit a record of more than 17,800 baptisms of adults and adolescents at Easter, a large increase on the already impressive levels recorded last year, as leaders ask themselves what’s behind this unexpected upswing for Catholicism in a staunchly secularist society.

The total number of adult baptisms will rise by 45 per cent to 10,384, with 42 per cent of that figure among the 18-25 age group alone. Baptisms of adolescents, aged 11-17, will increase by around 33 per cent to over 7,400. The number of Easter baptisms in 2024 was itself a 30 per cent increase on the previous year.

Adult confirmations are also up to over 9,000, twice as many as two years ago, as more “cradle Catholics” return to religious practice.

“These results, which further exceed the record figures collected last year, are the highest ever recorded since the [bishops’ conference] created this survey more than twenty years ago,” said the announcement of this year’s numbers from the French bishops.

“Furthermore, a trend already noted in last year’s survey is confirmed and strengthened very significantly: the growing – and now majority – proportion of young people among all catechumens.”

Haunted for years by clerical sexual abuse scandals that drove many believers away, Catholic clergy and laity are now trying to explain this surprising revival, especially among younger people. 

Some credit social media such as TikTok, with its small but growing band of Catholic influencers. They were notably active before Ash Wednesday this year, which saw more youths that day attend Mass than expected.

“There is one essential event you can’t miss if you want to experience Lent – Mass on Ash Wednesday,” said Fr Father Benoît Pouzin, a priest linked to the popular French Catholic rock group Glorious.

Pouzin, a priest of the Diocese of Valence, became a “Christian influencer” two years ago. His posts on Tiktok have amassed millions of views.  

“Many young people have not received a religious education,” he commented, adding they had “a lot of questions”. He explained: “You don’t arrive with a ready-made catechism. We take a question and try to answer it as simply as possible, in one minute.”

He described the surge of interest in faith as “an inner quest” where “through prayer” young people “experience something profound, accompanied by a real sense of communion”.

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Victor, 22, a “born again” Catholic, told Radio France Internationale: “Seeing young people on social networks taking an interest and democratising the expression of their faith makes people want to take an interest and, as a result, there are more conversions.”

Albertine Debacker, a Religious of the ecumenical Chemin Neuf who has 280,000 Instagram followers under the name Soeur Albertine, said many of them find it less intimidating to question a nun than to enter a Church.

“A lot of them tell me that it scares them to go into a church, to talk to a priest. Social networking is the first step in making that journey easier,” she said, explaining that young people asked specific questions about her life as a nun, as well as inquiring about the practicalities of prayer.

The key, she said was to offer support “being there to answer questions and ensuring it’s not just a fleeting fad on the internet”.

Other explanations for the increase have noted cultural parallels with French Muslims, whose annual fasting month is so widely known that Lent is often called “the Catholic Ramadan”. Islamic and Catholic fasting periods fell at roughly the same time this year.

Still others said young people were responding to a need for community, which they were deprived of either after the Covid lockdowns or because society is becoming increasingly individualistic. One man who became Catholic two years ago told a survey: “What I missed most after my baptism was meeting other newcomers.”

“The great challenge facing us now is to make disciples of them,” said Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon, the bishops’ conference’s lead for catechumens. “Our entire parish communities must become aware of this collective mission and integrate them, both before and after baptism.”

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris agreed, announcing on 11 April that his region will hold a year-long provincial council from Pentecost 2026 to analyse how to respond to this new challenge.

“What must we do ourselves so they find ways to grow more in their faith?” he asked.

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