Adult Catholic baptisms in France have more than tripled since 2016, reaching 13,234 this year. Church leaders and historians say many young converts seek community and meaning; nearly 600,000 people have registered for Pope Leo XIV’s Saturday Mass in Paris.
The French Catholic Church said a record 21,386 adults and teenagers were due to be baptised at Easter: 13,234 adults, up 28% on the previous year, and 8,152 teenagers. A March survey found 40% of people preparing for baptism began their spiritual journey after a difficult experience such as illness or bereavement; 32% reported a powerful spiritual experience.
Despite the adult surge, Gilles Finchelstein estimates that 30% of French people identify as Catholic but only 5% practise regularly. Baptisms of children under seven fell from 380,000 in 2000 to around 150,000 in 2024. At Lourdes, Pope Leo is due to meet seven survivors of clerical sexual abuse. A group representing about 200 former pupils of the Bétharram school was excluded from the audience; the Church said the Pope had requested an intimate meeting, while the group’s founder called the decision a “missed opportunity.”
