How Catholicism is gaining popularity among Gen Z
After decades of declining attendance and dwindling faith in much of the Western world, Roman Catholicism could be witnessing an unexpected revival.
And for a church today more known by many in the West for its elderly churchgoers, ageing priests and devastating sexual abuse scandals, the renewal is coming from the unlikeliest of corners: Gen Z.
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For these young people, whose life online is often impossible to parse from their “IRL” (In Real Life) existence, this move towards faith is at least partly due to the growing ecosystem of Catholic personalities on social media: clergy and layfolk alike, preaching, teaching, meme-ing and streaming – influencing teens and young adults.
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It’s opened up new audiences and voices, opportunities and challenges for the Catholic Church, in ways the Vatican is unable to control, but is keen to make the most of.
‘I won’t sell you clothes’
France has become a hotspot for this youthful turn towards God.
Baptisms among 18- to 25-year-olds in France have more than quadrupled in the last four years, while adult baptisms as a whole have risen more than 160 per cent over the past decade, according to data from the Catholic Church in France.
This Easter – a traditional time for baptism – saw a record number of 17,800, with the number of adult baptisms increasing by 45 per cent compared with 2024, the data showed.
That represents a stunning revival in a country which, while traditionally known as the “eldest daughter of the church” for its millennia-long relationship with Catholicism, had, like much of the Western world, seen declining church attendance in recent years. Various studies have put the share of the population heading to weekly Mass at between 2 and 5 per cent.
“We had pretty much announced the end of Catholicism,” Sister Albertine Debacker, a 29-year-old Catholic influencer who goes by @soeur.albertine online, told CNN. “At one time, I thought that it was really a grandma’s thing.”
She has become one of the biggest names in the online Catholic world in France, with 334,000 followers on Instagram and a further 202,000 on TikTok.
“What’s happening among young people is that they dare to speak amongst themselves. Religion isn’t a taboo subject,” Sister Albertine said.
Accounts like Sister Albertine’s provide a one-stop shop for those looking to learn more about the Catholic faith. She offers worship (her exam-time prayers video has racked up 2.3 million views), life advice, guidance on becoming a nun or getting baptised, and explanations of key Catholic teachings.
“How to forgive,” “Money in the Church,” and “3 tips to start reading the Bible” are among her offerings.
