SW News: During this year’s Easter vigil, 5,463 adults will receive the Sacrament of Baptism across France. The number published by the National Service for Catechesis and Catechumenate indicates an increase of 28 percent when compared with last year’s figure.

In 2022, the Church witnessed 4,278 adult baptisms at the Easter vigil. This year, 33% of the catechumens are in the age group 18-25. The number of catechumens has doubled in 17 French dioceses. Three percent of the new converts are from a Muslim background. Meanwhile, in the United States, thousands are expected to officially become Catholic at the Easter vigil. In the Diocese of Fort Worth in Texas, 297 candidates and 452 catechumens will come into full communion with the Church.

In the Diocese of St. Petersburg, more than 350 people will embrace the Catholic faith. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, around 200 catechumens and more than 235 candidates have been preparing to become Catholics.


As many as 126 catechumens and 180 candidates have been going through RCIA in the diocese of Grand Rapids in the USA.


In the archdiocese of Brisbane in Australia, 140 catechumens and candidates will embrace the Catholic faith at the Easter vigil. In the Sydney archdiocese, nearly 200 people will become Catholics. As many as 350 catechumens and candidates will embrace the Catholic faith at the Easter vigil in the Diocese of Westminster in the United Kingdom.

In 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic, the number of converts in the United States alone was more than 35,000.