France – The grace of numerous adult catechumens

‘I was in Besançon, in the cathedral, on Ash Wednesday 2025, crowded with a large number of young people.

Archbishop Mgr Jean-Luc Bouilleret invited us to pray for the journey of adult catechumens who, in ever-increasing numbers throughout France, are asking for Baptism, expressing their heartfelt thanks to God for this undeserved grace.

I also discovered that a young Sister, sr. Lê, from the Escale-Jeunes community, is part of the diocesan team for adult catechumenate (for the Escale community, click here)

This year, the team has prepared 92 adults who, on Easter night, were baptised in Besançon.

In France, there were 10,384 adults and over 7,400 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17. This brings to over 17,800 catechumens who have been baptised in France, an increase of 45% compared to 2024.

Avvenire, 19 April 2025

The case: ‘Here’s how to explain the boom in catechumens in France’

by Daniele Zappalà, Paris

According to moral theologian Véronique Margron, there is a growing desire for spirituality and community. Those who approach the faith do so because they also need support in a difficult world.

‘It’s never too late to be baptised!’ remind the leaflets available in many French churches. This message is reaching a growing number of teenagers and adults who are ready to become catechumens to receive Baptism, Confirmation and Communion after a two-year journey. The phenomenon is dispelling the pessimism of many ‘experts’ and is also a particularly welcome sign in this Jubilee Year of Hope, after the dark chapter of the abuse crisis in the French Church.

Among the first to highlight this was an intellectual Sister who has become a reference point for many disoriented faithful, also through her speeches and books (in Italy, Queriniana has published Fedeltà. Infedeltà. Questione viva). The Dominican Véronique Margron, provincial prioress of her order, is a highly regarded moral theologian and lecturer at prestigious Catholic universities. Since 2016, she has chaired the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France (Corref), a body that works in dialogue with the French Bishops’ Conference.

For her, the nearly 18,000 catechumens who will arrive at the baptismal font this Easter 2025 represent a valuable sign, albeit not an easy one to interpret.

Are you surprised by this phenomenon?

God’s ways are mysterious. We can rejoice at this good news. But I am not really surprised, because a combination of factors explains at least part of these record numbers.

Have you observed this closely?

Not as much as others. But I will be the godmother of one of these catechumens. In addition, several of my sisters have told me about those they are following. There seems to be a favourable context for deep questioning. Ecological issues, war on our doorstep, growing uncertainty about the future, a certain vanity of the consumerist world and instant gratification: these factors, in my opinion, mean that spiritual questions, whether secular or religious, are being asked much more. As human beings, we always need to transcend ourselves, and certain circumstances remind us of this. Among those who are questioning themselves, some are turning to the Christian faith rather than more esoteric traditions. I wonder if this is a rediscovery of God who became man. But I think that recognising oneself in a community has a greater impact, because in our fragmented societies there is a need for identity.

Is there a prevailing profile?

There are young and old people from very different backgrounds. What they have in common, I think, is a spiritual quest and a need to respond collectively. There is a need for community and mutual support in a difficult world.

Has the much-admired rebirth of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris been part of this spiritual quest?

Yes, we have witnessed, so to speak, the resurrection of Notre-Dame, perceived as a gateway to hope, decidedly against the tide of the current context. For one night, we all thought the building was about to collapse, whereas today it has never been so beautiful.

But be careful, I don’t think we can see this as a symbol of a triumphant Church. It is absolute beauty emerging from the midst of pain.

Many say they are positively surprised by the global response to the rebirth…

Faith also feeds on emotions. In this regard, many catechumens say that a driving force for them was a visit to a church or other religious heritage site. These are places that symbolise contemplation, beauty and peace. Faith can only endure if it also contains a dose of emotion linked to values associated with a form of gratuitousness. Tens of millions of people prayed for the rebirth of Notre-Dame.

In 2019, referring to the abuse crisis, you described the French Church as being ‘in a state of emergency’. Is there a slight paradox today with the catechumens?

Rather than a paradox, I would speak of concomitant events. Talking to these catechumens, one understands that for them the question of the ecclesial institution is light years away. These are people who want to live their faith with others. At the same time, there is no shortage of believers who continue to criticise the Church’s loss of credibility in the wake of the scandals. I also meet many committed Christians who tell me they don’t know if they will continue.

Yet these catechumens are turning to the institution. Are you already seeing some fruits of the ‘moment of truth’ linked to the abuses, as the title of your book suggests?

It’s hard to say. But I note that today the Church’s leaders are not boasting about the increase in catechumens. The latter are not linked to pastoral care, but are interpreted as an unexpected grace. So, I already see at least this precious fruit, modesty.

Is there a wider archipelago of positive signs of ecclesial vitality?

Yes. I am thinking in particular of the large gathering of high school students from the Paris region on pilgrimage to Lourdes, the Frat, which has just broken an all-time attendance record in a very joyful atmosphere, with 13,500 young people. So there is a Christian youth taking up the torch. A youth that seems convinced and motivated, feeling like a minority in society. But institutions must ask themselves how to give them their rightful place.

Has a certain catastrophism about ‘irreversible’ secularisation reached a dead end?

I would say that the spiritual needs of people have been underestimated. To imagine that a society can become so secularised that it entrusts everything to reason is, in my view, an illusion. Pure blindness. When we lose a loved one, or in many other difficult situations, we cannot rely solely on rational answers.

What nourishes your hope on a personal level?

The ability we retain to fight against what would seem to be inevitable. I understood this even better when I was alongside victims of sexual violence. Hope, in this way, reappears when interpersonal bonds are restored. This is also the case with the new catechumens, who are all actors in spiritual and fruitful human bonds. That is what hope is for me.

Source: https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/pagine/boom-di-catecumeni-in-francia-risposta-al-deside

For the photo of Véronique Margron, source François Bouchon / Le Figaro