Overview
- Baptisms and receptions that swelled over the weekend have now been tallied by Hallow, which estimates a 38% year-over-year rise across 140 U.S. dioceses.
- Dioceses report many new Catholics are young adults, with several citing an average age near 28 and a marked increase in men in their 20s.
- Local counts show outsized gains in major centers, with Los Angeles reporting 8,598 received and Hallow estimating increases of 139% in LA, 52% in Chicago, and 36% in New York City.
- Reports point to broader reach beyond the U.S., including 2,050 adult baptisms in Toronto and similar increases noted in parts of Europe.
- Long-running CARA data show adult entries fell from about 174,000 in 2000 to 70,796 in 2020, then recovered to just over 90,000 in 2024, and experts caution that official national totals for 2026 will lag by years.