The candlelit church in Greenwich Village was packed. After months of study and preparation, 19 adults sat at the front, dressed in white, nervously awaiting their turn at the baptismal font. One by one, they stepped forward. After anointing them with chrism (holy oil), the priest poured water over their heads, baptizing them into the Catholic Church in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was almost as if the veil between heaven and earth had been lifted,\u201d said Jane, one of the adults baptized into the Church that day. She left feeling \u201cmore receptive to the supernatural.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was Easter Sunday 2025, just over a month ago. And what happened in Greenwich Village happened across America. There was a boom in adult baptisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, The Pillar <\/em>reported a surge in the numbers<\/a> of aspiring Catholics registering to join the church at Easter. The Diocese of Lansing in Michigan reported a 30 percent spike<\/a> from the previous year, 633 converts, which is the highest they\u2019ve seen in over a decade. Father Ryan Kaup, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln\u2019s Catholic center, baptized 20 students alone\u2014\u201cthe highest we\u2019ve ever had\u201d\u2014and gave rites of initiation to an additional 50 who were coming into the church from other Christian denominations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Having faith and believing in something higher than yourself is also cool. How Catholicism Got Cool https:\/\/t.co\/6zCOeDD59N<\/a>?<\/p>— Jessica Piha (@sephardicsea) June 4, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>