The number of candidates preparing to be received into the Catholic Church across England at Easter is at its highest level for 15 years.
Dioceses across the country are reporting increases, with Shrewsbury Cathedral holding an additional service to accommodate record numbers of adults seeking baptism and admission into the Church.
In a statement, the Diocese of Shrewsbury said: “The numbers of people asking to become Catholics in the Diocese of Shrewsbury – which includes all of Shropshire, Cheshire, the Wirral and parts of Greater Manchester – has almost doubled in the past three years.
“The surge in new converts has meant that instead of the one Cathedral service to welcome those adults preparing to enter the Catholic Church, the numbers have required two successive celebrations of the Rite of Election on the same afternoon. It was the first time it has been necessary to have two celebrations on the same day.”
A total of 171 adults from 31 parishes took part – many of them young adults. This compares with 100 last year and 82 in 2024. The increase in converts in Shrewsbury is consistent with other Catholic dioceses in the UK who are reporting similar rises.
The Diocese of Shrewsbury added the “numbers may be statistically small, but analysts say they are significant largely because most new Catholics are young people including many men.”
The Diocese of Westminster has seen a 60% rise, with more than 800 adults from more than 100 parishes coming forward. It’s the fourth largest cohort since diocesan records began in 1993. The newly-installed Archbishop of Westminster, Most Rev Richard Moth, presided at this month’s Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion at Westminster Cathedral.
The service is traditionally held on the First Sunday of Lent and serves as a practical barometer of ecclesial life. During the Rite of Election, candidates make public commitments to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church in the final stage of their preparation. They will be fully received into the Church in their local churches during the Easter Vigil Mass.
The Diocese of Southwark is also reporting its highest number in 26 years, with 590 people coming forward to be received into the Catholic Church. 57% are women and half of the converts are aged 35 and under.
Over 1,400 adults have converted to Catholicism in Southwark since 2024.
Rt Rev Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury said: “We see a growing number of men and women, many of them young adults, who are seeking faith and baptism. This stream of new converts is evident across our diocese and country and indeed across the western world.
“It is all the more remarkable because this new generation of converts have been drawn to the Church by no special initiative on our part, rather by the constancy of faith, the reverence of worship and the authentic witness they have found.
“They may be statistically small in number compared with the overall decline of Christianity in our land, yet their search for Christ and His Church represents a moment of grace."