“My generation is watching things fall apart. When things all seem to be going wrong in greater society, maybe organized religion isn’t that bad.”
We could use a little good news, couldn’t we? Check this out, from The New York Post:
Young people come to New York City to chase careers, materialism and pleasure. The pursuit of faith isn’t exactly on the Big Apple checklist.
However, at a recent, very crowded Sunday night mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village, Father Jonah Teller, OP made a simple announcement indicating that times are changing.
According to Teller, the number enrolled in the parish’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults — the process in which adults convert to Catholicism — had tripled since last year, with roughly 130 people signing up.
There’s a similar story at St. Vincent Ferrer on the Upper East Side, where their OCIA numbers have doubled since last year, swelling to nearly 90 people.
At the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, they’ve also doubled their head count with about 100 people. Their Sunday 7pm mass has become overcrowded.
“We’re out of space and exploring adding more masses,” Father Daniel Ray told The Post.
In the Diocese of Brooklyn, they’ve also seen a surge. In 2024, they had 538 adults enter the church, nearly twice the amount of 2023. (All priests acknowledge some will drop off before the Easter Vigil, but they still expect numbers to remain high).
Since activist Charlie Kirk, an evangelical Protestant, was assassinated in September, there’s been reports that mass attendance is way up. And over the last year, Catholic churches across the country have cited more conversions among young people.
But such a large number of people seeking faith in uber secular New York City is remarkable.
“We’ve got a real booming thing happening here, and it’s not because of some marketing campaign,” said Ray.
However, in an unstable and fractured world, the promise of strength, love and community is a pretty good pitch.
“My generation is watching things fall apart,” Kiegan Lenihan, who is in OCIA at St. Joseph’s told The Post. “When things all seem to be going wrong in greater society, maybe organized religion isn’t that bad.”
