The Catholic Church is benefiting from the Leo effect

In September, Pope Leo XIV didn’t just travel to France. He conquered it. Approximately 300,000 people lined the streets of Paris as the Popemobile traveled to the newly restored Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Another 600,000 people attended an open-air mass presided over by Pope Leo. And 80,000 attended a youth vigil where all available spots were filled within hours of opening. 

Most importantly, during this past Easter there were more than 21,000 adult baptisms, a record for the French Catholic Church.

Something similar is happening in the U.S. Catholic dioceses across the U.S. have reported record numbers of conversions. In Los Angeles, there was a 139 percent increase, Phoenix saw a 23 percent increase and New York saw a 36 percent increase. In Leo’s home archdiocese of Chicago, there was a 52 percent increase — the highest number of conversions since 2013.  

Even smaller dioceses, such as those of Rapid City, S.D., and Fairbanks, Alaska, saw a sizeable number of converts.

Call it the Leo effect. 

Many converts were young people between the ages of 18 and 35. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Boise, Idaho noted that they were drawn to the “transcendent beauty, clarity, and orthodoxy of the Catholic faith.” Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski of St. Louis says, “In our age of uncertainty, and in our age of great anxiety, [there] is a thirst and hunger for God and stability that faith brings to people’s lives.”

A survey of Catholic converts from 20 dioceses confirms those findings. Eighty-four percent said they were interested in exploring a deeper spirituality or relationship with God, 77 percent wanted to grow in goodness and........

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