US Dioceses Reporting Massive Surge in Conversions to Catholicism
Image Courtesy of Campus Ministry.
By Anthony Curioso
Easter 2026 has proven to be a significant time for the Catholic Church, especially regarding increases in the number of converts.
The National Catholic Register has reported that many dioceses are seeing enormous surges in the number of people who chose to undergo the Order of Christian Initiation in Adults (OCIA) process, with the Dioceses of Norwich, Connecticut, and Pueblo, Colorado, more than doubling their conversion rates from 2025.
One student convert from the Easter Vigil mass, Sydney Hanley, a junior psychology major, spoke about her experience in OCIA, saying, “It really rounded out my Catholic education because I was able to receive such a thorough understanding of each topic we discussed.” Crediting her teachers, Hanley mentioned Father Bernard, Father Nicholas, and Brother Patrick, who “welcomed every point of discussion and made the environment extremely warm and fun.” She went on to say, “I genuinely looked forward to seeing them all each Sunday, and I’m sad we’ll be splitting up but so excited for how God will work in each of their lives!”
Additionally, the Diocese of Newark recorded 60% more converts (1,701 total) in 2026 and 22% more (1,305 total) in 2025 than its previous record high (1,064 total) set in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Last year, we had no idea where all the people came from then; 2025 eclipsed every year we had had up to then. We thought it might be an anomaly,” said Father Armand Mantia, director of the Newark archdiocese’s OCIA program. “And then, all of a sudden, we had our rituals for 2026, and 2026 blew away 2025, which we didn’t think was possible.”
This trend of increased conversion rates to Catholicism is reflected at CUA as well. According to Fr. Bernard Knapke, the Associate Chaplain and Liturgy Coordinator for CUA’s Campus Ministry office, the CUA community welcomed eleven community members – that is, faculty, staff, and/or students – into the Catholic faith in 2025 and seventeen more in 2026. These figures represent a significant jump from the seven CUA students who entered the Catholic Church at an Easter Vigil celebrated on campus in 2022.
“Entering the Church has really rerouted my purpose in life,” Hanley said. “I’m able now to see myself as part of something larger, and each action as not one of my own doing, but of His goodness working through me. It’s been really freeing and healing, and it’s a feeling I never knew I was missing before receiving the sacraments.”
To help welcome the new Catholic members of the CUA community into the faith, Campus Ministry hosted a “Welcome Home” reception following the 11 a.m. Mass on April 12, Divine Mercy Sunday. The Mass also included the Sacrament of Confirmation for three individuals, in addition to the fourteen CUA community members who had received Confirmation (and, in some cases, Baptism) during the Easter Vigil at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church eight days earlier.
Anna Kampia, a senior nursing major, served as one of the assistant catechists for this year’s OCIA cohort at CUA. She gave a short speech at the beginning of the “Welcome Home” reception, sharing that she was honored to have been a part of the journey. Interestingly, both Kampia and her fellow assistant catechist this year, senior philosophy major Gabriel Epps, are converts to Catholicism.
There has also been some speculation, especially among senior Cardinals and other bishops in Rome, that the election of Leo XIV as the first U.S.-born Pope may also be a catalyst for the surge in conversions to Catholicism. Additionally, the Archbishop of Washington, Robert Cardinal McElroy, suggested that many Americans are coming to Catholicism out of a desire for patriotism and American ideals as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary this July.
Hanley continued, offering her perspective on the matter, “I honestly am not sure why so many people have been driven to the faith this year. All I can think to say is that it’s a beautiful expression of how our God really is alive, because if He wasn’t, how would we all feel Him so strongly at the same time?”
One can only wonder how many additional people will enter the Church and receive their Sacraments in 2027, and how that number will compare to recent trends of 2025 and 2026.
