Following months, sometimes even years, of spiritual orientation and guidance through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process, individuals seeking a new path may decide to pursue conversion to Catholicism. After declaring the intention to be baptized, observing the 40 days of Lent—a time of reflection and fasting—cements one’s commitment. Finally, the night before Easter Sunday, people all over the world gather to renounce sin, profess their faith, be immersed in water and be declared baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

For the past few years, there have been rumblings of a “religious revival” occurring in the United States. The Archdiocese of Seattle has seen a rise in conversions over the past three years, with the number of catechumens (a person who was baptized, confirmed and received in Holy Communion) increasing from 763 in 2024 to 1,073 this year. The number of candidates for Full Communion (persons who are baptized and will receive the other sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation) has shown a similar trajectory, with 413 individuals in 2025 and 522 in 2026. 

Kimberly Abadir, the director of lifelong formation at Seattle’s Archdiocese, has seen this rise in number firsthand, from both young adults as well as high school students who participate in the Archdiocese’s high school Catholic Youth Convention. Since the pandemic, the convention has seen a rise in attendees, from 125 in 2022 to 424 in 2023, a dip to 307 in 2024 and then 495 this past November. 

“I thought it was just kind of an anomaly here in Western Washington, thinking, ‘OK, everybody thinks that Western Washington is kind of an unchurched area, but look at how much interest we’re seeing in the faith and how many people are coming to the church.’ I was surprised and excited to read that this is going on on the national level as well,” Abadir said. 

All around the country, other Archdioceses have reported increasing parish numbers. Washington D.C.’s Archdiocese welcomed almost 200 more converts this Easter than last year, while Detroit welcomed its highest number of 1,428 converts in the last 21 years; other Archdioceses corroborate this trend. 

Zachary Coleman, a third-year political science major, was one of the three young people baptized in Seattle University’s reflection pool on Holy Saturday, the night before Easter. 

Growing up, Coleman was not strongly religious; his parents were baptized, but he and his siblings never were. Going into college, he never expected faith to be something he would be drawn to. But after taking a year off from school during a difficult period in his life, he found himself at a personal crossroads when he returned. 

“I went on the lowest path of seeing all my friends graduate, leave, and I [was] still behind and I didn’t have anything,” Coleman said. “I think faith filled that void and it made me feel so much better.”

Coleman began his search at local parishes, all of which told him baptism could take three years; more time than he had to graduate. This timeline was discouraging, but a newfound accessibility was revealed within Catholic conversion when he approached Seattle U campus ministry’s OCIA program. With the help of Brian Taberski, associate director for university liturgy, worship and faith formation, and assistant clinical professor of theology and religious studies, Coleman was presented with the option to convert after just one year. 

“You didn’t find faith when everything was going well. You found it when you realized that the way you [were] living wasn’t enough,” Coleman said. 

When it actually came to his baptism, Coleman emphasized that the journey didn’t turn him into a brand new person; it was just an experience that brought a sense of stability and confidence. 

“We were in a cold pond, and we got warm water poured on us, which I wasn’t expecting. It felt like a hug, and I keep on saying ‘grounded,’ but that’s a key word for me: that I felt grounded in that sense,” Coleman said.

After a decade of declining rates of Christianity in the United States, Pew Research reports that the percentage of Americans who identify as Christians may be stabilizing. The data show that, between 2014 and 2019, the rate of Christian-identifying Americans dropped 8%, from 71% to 63%. However, despite some small fluctuation since, it was reported in 2024 that 63% still identify as Christian. This may suggest that the era of decreasing Christian populations in America is coming to an end.

As a Jesuit university, Seattle U is at a unique crossroads with the trend of rising converts as it serves the youth. Taberski runs the OCIA for Seattle U’s campus ministry, which baptized three people at Seattle U’s reflection pond during the Easter vigil. Taberski believes that the reasons for this rising trend can be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While COVID may seem like it was 9 million years ago, or we want to believe it was 9 million years ago, it’s only 6 years. A lot happened, and I think we’re actually still collectively processing all that happened… I just think that, first of all, people were forced to be more reflective… when you’re at home staring at the walls, I imagine you have some time to contemplate the meaning of life,” Taberski said. 

Assistant Vice President of University Ministry at Seattle U, Luke Lavin, echoed Taberski’s ideas, and theorizes that the isolation of challenging academics, competitive job fields and general loneliness leaves young people searching for a sense of community that they find within the Catholic Church. However, Lavin noted that the search for belonging is now unfolding in the digital world. 

“I did notice, coming out of the pandemic, a pretty consistent narrative from young people, which was ‘I finally did my own research.’ Meaning [they] went online and spent a lot of time trying to determine [their] religious perspective… that wasn’t something I think was happening 15 or 20 years ago,” Lavin said.

Social media can serve as a means for young people to rediscover spiritual traditions and find community in a world that seems increasingly individualistic. Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, vice president for mission integration at Seattle U, wrote in an email to The Spectator that this trend reflects young people’s longing to be known.

“I believe there is a deep spiritual hunger among young adults. With so much uncertainty and even seeming chaos in our world, I believe young people are becoming more aware of the desire for meaning and purpose that permeates every human heart and discovering that what they desire is more than what the world promises,” Punsalan-Manlimos wrote.

This longing for everyday meaning resonated for Owen Purvis, a second-year finance major, who was one of the individuals confirmed at this year’s Easter vigil. Purvis was baptized as a child in the Lutheran church, but rediscovered his faith in the fall of his freshman year. He then became interested in Catholicism and went through the OCIA process to get confirmed.

“[Being Catholic] means everything, honestly. The way I view life, the way I treat others, the way I interact within my daily life. I try to have all my actions reflect the way Jesus lived,” Purvis said.

Punsalan-Manlimos believes that people are turning more to Catholicism because, while still a traditional faith, it remains attentive to modern society and acknowledges the realities of people’s lives today, with Pope Leo being at the center of many social justice conversations. Her hope for the future of Catholicism is that it continues to attract young people who are craving stability and purpose, as well as those who strive to make the world a place of reconciliation and justice.

Jennifer Tilghman-Havens, executive director of the center for Jesuit education, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that Catholicism is a holistic religion that attracts people from diverse backgrounds.

“The ritual, prayer, community, values and vision of Catholicism, especially when it comes to human dignity, care for our earth, protection for vulnerable peoples, a human-centered theological vision—all of these tenets of Catholicism draw people from all walks of life who desire a framework, a set of spiritual practices and a circle of fellow faithful people with whom they can pray, discern and act,” Tilghman-Havens wrote in an email to The Spectator.

Taberski isn’t surprised by this rising trend. For him, the rise of conversions in Catholicism is divine intervention.

“I think what we’re seeing is a moment of time in which the Holy Spirit continues to do the work that the Holy Spirit does,” Taberski said. “Sometimes that ebbs, sometimes that flows. But as a student of history and in particular as a student of church history, I don’t find it surprising that divine providence continues to play out.”