Archbishop Fisher declares a 'second spring' of faith in Sydney and beyond

SYDNEY (OSV News) -- In a compelling address to the Sydney Catholic Business Network, Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney revealed that a "second spring" of Catholic faith is underway across Sydney and beyond, challenging popular narratives of religious decline.

Speaking to a packed audience at the Four Seasons Hotel on May 30, Archbishop Fisher highlighted several encouraging trends that point to a resurgence in faith engagement, particularly among young people and those previously disconnected from religious practice.

With the theme "Signs of Hope in this Jubilee Year," he told the gathering of business leaders that the signs of a revival in Australia were "a genuine hunger for spiritual meaning in an increasingly fragmented world."

The archbishop pointed to this year's Rite of Election ceremony as concrete evidence of this revival, with a 26% year-on-year increase in adult converts for five consecutive years.

"These aren't just people raised Catholic who are returning -- but individuals from diverse backgrounds who are encountering the faith for the first time and finding something deeply compelling," he explained.

With the archdiocese preparing for a record 20,000 faithful to join the Walk with Christ procession on June 22 and gearing up to host the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028, Archbishop Fisher noted how quickly "a spiritual winter can thaw into a spring."

Catholic education and lay movements are also thriving: "Our Catholic school enrollments are the highest they've ever been, and keep growing," he said. Surveys "found a significant rise in the overall religiosity of our students in the Catholic schools."

Other positive indicators include strong seminary enrollment and a revival in parish life.

"The numbers at Sunday and feast day Masses just keep growing. Soon, I might have to get a bigger cathedral," he quipped. "In the past month, we've ordained a bishop, two deacons, and tomorrow, a priest, and he will be the 36th since 2015."

Research has found that approximately 800,000 people who identified as having "no religion" in 2016 changed their answer to "Christian" in the 2021 census.

The phenomenon extends beyond formal religious participation, with Archbishop Fisher noting the surprising popularity of faith-based content across various media platforms.

"We're seeing podcasts, YouTube channels and social media accounts dedicated to exploring Catholic teaching and tradition gaining millions of followers."

Globally, the archbishop of Sydney pointed to the United States, where many dioceses reported a 40% increase in adult conversions last year, with Los Angeles alone welcoming 5,500 new Catholics at Easter.

The United Kingdom shows similar trends, with Christian affiliation growing significantly between 2018 and 2024.

When asked what's driving this global revival, Archbishop Fisher offered: "A simple answer would be the Holy Spirit."

But he added that "for some, it was COVID that thrust the big questions about life and death before them," he explained. Others are "wowed by the beauty and sacredness of the liturgy, art or music," while still others "crave real community."

Business leaders in attendance responded enthusiastically to the archbishop's message. The event was organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and sponsored by Catholic Super, an investment firm that manages retirement benefits for clergy and lay employees of Catholic schools and agencies.

"I liked these signs of new beginnings, this vision of spring. It is like the coming of a new season, after a long winter," said Fortunato Legato, a director with the Liverpool Catholic Club. "It was a wonderful, hopeful message," he said.

Stephen O'Shea from the National Catholic Education Commission, the top organization for Catholic education in Australia,?has seen firsthand the fruits of increased enrollments in Catholic schools in Sydney, referenced by the archbishop.

He thought the archbishop gave "faithful insight, backed with statistics to show us all where Catholicism is today and where it's headed. It's wonderful to see how positive the future looks from here," he said.

The archbishop concluded: "It might be too early to declare winter now past, but flowers have appeared in our land. There are signs of hope."

As Catholic author and philosopher G.K. Chesterton famously claimed and Archbishop Fisher quoted: "Christianity has died many times and risen again, for it had a God who knew the way out of the grave."