Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 8, 2026
Pope Leo had a powerful and successful pastoral visit to France in September. France is known to be a country where the Catholic Church was once powerful but is now much less influential. However, something is stirring in France!
In France, adult (mostly young adults) and teen baptisms have soared in recent years, going from about 2000 per year 5 years ago to over 20,000 in 2026. Pope Leo's youth rally at an arena in Paris drew 80,000 young people, all seemingly enthused for the Pope's visit. Are things turning around in France?
Before we get too hopeful, there were 150,000 infant baptisms in France last year, a significant drop from the 300,000 recorded in 2000. The dramatic increase in young adult conversions does not in any way offset the catastrophic decrease in infant baptisms. The Catholic Church of France is still diminishing.
The Church in the USA, as well as in most western countries, is also seeing an increase in young adult baptisms along with a decrease in infant baptisms. There was a 38% increase in adult baptisms in the USA in 2026 compared with 2025.
Since 2023, the number of adults entering the Catholic Church in the USA (by baptism or profession of faith) jumped from 88,000 to over 96,000. These trends are also evident at Saint John's. Last year we had 28 adult baptisms or confirmations at Saint John's and Holy Redeemer. Our OCIA class is large this year as well. And we see plenty of young adults at Mass and attending our young adult activities.
But the drop in infant baptisms is troubling. What is happening?
It seems to me that cultural Catholicism is fading. People aren't baptizing their children just because of family tradition. Baptism of children and of adults is more often today a choice, a firm decision. The same with marriage in the Church. People who don't care about their faith don't usually ask for a Church wedding. When I was ordained in 1991, it seemed that most couples having a church wedding were only mildly interested in the Church. Today couples who aren't truly committed to the Church don't get married in the Church.
It seems to me that we are evolving from a large church that was carried from generation to generation by cultural traditions, but not always by personal choice or faith, to a smaller church with truly dedicated and believing members.
Of course, we must not give up on the large numbers who are no longer interested, no longer connecting to the Church. We hope that the young adults, who will soon be young families, will evangelize their friends and family members. For the foreseeable future, the Church will be smaller, but hopefully more committed.
Here at Saint John's we are doing our part. We work with young adults through our wedding ministry and our outreach to our young adult members. However, most of the people who marry at Saint John's or who baptize their children at Saint John's or who attend Mass or young adult activities won't be here in 5 years.
These days Saint John's is a place of faith and worship for many young people who are on their way to live somewhere else. Perhaps that is Saint John's vocation—to evangelize and catechize young adults who will go on to enrich the Catholic Church in many places. We work hard at Saint John's to bless and sustain the Catholic Church, though the fruits of our work are not likely to stay at Saint John's.
