What is happening in New York? The number of Catholics is growing, driven by a rising wave of adult conversions through the catechumenate. This is according to a report published by the “New York Post”.

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Something is happening in the most cosmopolitan city in the world.

We are talking about New York, and the news comes from an impartial and authoritative source: the “New York Post”.

 

Conversions to Catholicism in New York

Parishes are witnessing a significant increase in adults choosing to embrace the Catholic faith, according to OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, the official path toward conversion.

In a recent report by the “Post”, the newspaper quotes Father Jonah Teller of St. Joseph Church in Greenwich Village, who explains that the number of catechumenate participants has tripled compared to the previous year, reaching about 130 adults.

The same phenomenon is occurring at St. Vincent Ferrer in the Upper East Side, where participation has doubled, now reaching almost 90 people.

A similar doubling of numbers has also been recorded at Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral: roughly 100 converts, with the 7 PM Sunday Mass now visibly overcrowded.

The situation has become so pressing that the pastor, Father Daniel Ray, has stated that the community is considering adding additional Mass times to accommodate the influx.

In the Brooklyn district, 538 adults formally requested entry into the Catholic Church in 2024—nearly double the number of the previous year.

Already last April, the same U.S. newspaper—certainly not known for being favorable to Catholicism—reported a “mass conversion” of young people to the Catholic faith.

 

Why convert in New York?

According to the priests involved, this trend reflects an authentic spiritual search: many young adults—professionals, athletes, entrepreneurs—say they feel spiritually unfulfilled, despite career success and the abundance of opportunities offered by the world’s most “symbolic” city.

The “New York Post” also claims that participation in liturgy increased after the killing last September of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an evangelical Protestant who was sympathetic to Catholicism. It was a shockwave felt across America.

At the heart of this return to faith lies a combination of deep motivations: social instability, a search for balance and meaning in a chaotic and polarized world (a sentiment amplified after Kirk’s murder), disillusionment with modern ideologies, personal loss, and a growing desire for community.

Father Teller believes that the Church’s appeal lies precisely in the depth of Catholicism: “Materially, we have everything within reach, but we do not reach our hearts,” he explains, noting that Catholic liturgy, tradition, and teaching provide answers that modern society struggles to offer.

 

Some stories collected by the “New York Post”

Among the most emblematic stories are those of Cindy Zhao, a healthcare worker who began moving toward Catholicism after the death of her cousin, and Liz Flynn, a carpenter from Brooklyn, who found God almost by chance while reading a book at Cracker Barrel, a souvenir shop.

Praying the Rosary and devotion to Mary offered her a sense of peace that had been missing until then.

Some speak of an inner emptiness that professional success could not fill: “On paper I had everything, but inside I felt nothing”, admits Kiegan Lenihan, 28, who went from the atheism of Dawkins and Hitchens to the Catholic faith.

According to him, the Church offers a stable structure, a clear system of values, and a sense of belonging that contemporary ideologies can no longer provide.

Ben Cook, 32, an entrepreneur, describes himself as “a progressive kid from San Francisco.” Raised by hippie parents, he met two Catholics who were, as he says, “undeniably the healthiest, happiest, and most balanced friends I had.” From that moment on, he began to discover something more radical than any progressive revolution: faith.

“Why Catholicism?” asks Ian Burns, 22, from the East Village, recently graduated from the University of Michigan. “I feel like I need something to lean on. It is the original Christian religion, and I wanted to go to the root, not just to the branches.”

 

It is a process that seems to have started even before the election of the American Leo XIV and, at least according to the testimony of those involved, appears to be much more than a passing trend.

It is significant that it is happening in a metropolis that many believed had become too modern – and too secularized – to be fertile ground for religious vocations.