Reports across the country are seeing an increase in converting to the Church.
By Catholics for Catholics
Parishes and Catholic churches across the country are seeing record numbers of people rushing to convert to Catholicism, according to published reports.
From New Orleans to Forth Worth Texas, from the urban sprawls of Los Angeles to places like Hillsdale, Michigan, reports of converts to the Catholic Church in the U.S. have been rising.
In 2024, some dioceses reported surges of 30%, 40%, 50%, and even more than 70%, according to the National Catholic Register and the Catholic News Agency. Often, a prospective convert can join the church anytime they want, but more often than not they choose to do so on Easter Vigil, which is the time that traditionally folks become members as they are baptized.
Traditionally, the program for potential converts has been called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, more well-known as RCIA. However, in November 2021 the U.S. Conference of Bishops voted to start a process to change the name to Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, according to The Register.
The Register provided some facts and numbers. For example, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas stood out as the figure of converts there climbed from 896 at Easter 2023 to 1,544 at Easter 2024, an increase of 72%.
In other numbers that The Register recorded, “a small diocese in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Diocese of Marquette, saw a 70% jump (from 40 to 68 converts) from 2023 to 2024. Others seeing large increases include Grand Island, Nebraska (35%); Portland, Maine (35%); and Grand Rapids, Michigan (33%).” Some observers said that worldly factors may be in force. One of them was the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Jason Whitehead, director of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Fort Worth, told The Register that some of the main reasons that the Diocese is seeing conversions is the energetic catechists who teach the faith according to the official teachings of the church and the way it prepares the catechists and the converts.
“It’s crucial,” he said, “to present Catholic doctrine in its fullness.”
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