As Jubilee of Youth starts in Rome, Catholics highlight signs of religious revival

(OSV News) -- As young Catholics flock to Rome for the church's Jubilee of Youth, hopes are high that the weeklong event will stir new interest in the faith.

Signs of reviving youth religiousness have already been reported across Europe and were cited in secularized Britain in a detailed mid-July report.

"Far from just returning to normality after the COVID-19 pandemic, there's evidence attitudes are changing towards the Christian faith as young people search for new answers," explained Beth Przybylska, strategic project director at the church's Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, or CYMFed.

"Big events like the Jubilee provide moments of encounter, which often open the door to deeper conversations and longer journeys. This is already being shown by growing attendance at Catholic events," she said.

In its 46-page report, Youth For Christ-U.K. -- part of an U.S.-based evangelical network -- said it had asked youngsters "about trust, influence, spirituality and the church," comparing their answers with similar polls from 2016 and 2022.

It added that weekly youth church attendance had doubled from 4% to 8% in just five years, with belief in God also increasing from 32% to 48% and 96% of youngsters declaring an openness to "spiritual experience."

The number claiming to pray regularly, though small, had also increased sharply, the report said, as young people "experienced the hollow promises of consumer culture first-hand."

Although fewer than half had been told "about Jesus" outside school religious classes, 65% said they now viewed churches "positively," compared to just 8% in 2020 -- defying "every prediction about declining religious engagement."

Laura Hancock, Youth For Christ-U.K.'s national ministries director, said the report's July 12 publication brought "many anecdotal stories" of young people from atheist backgrounds coming to church and seeking baptism.

"With mental health issues now widespread, young people are deeply drawn to the peace, spirituality and predictability of religious services," Hancock told OSV News.

"Most church communities have been wary of young people, assuming they aren't interested and don't want to come. They need to start responding to these warmer youth attitudes towards Christianity and churches."

CYMFed's Przybylska told OSV News this reflects Catholic experiences too.

The clarity of Catholic beliefs has spurred an increase in youth retreats and discussion groups, she said, while many youngsters with no church connections asked how they could pray for Pope Francis during his final illness.

When the British church's annual Flame Catholic Youth Festival convened at London's Wembley Arena on March 15, it attracted a record 10,800 teenagers, with a waiting list of up to 2,000.

"I think this growth will continue -- and our ministry stands ready with open arms to welcome young people wishing to be part of the Catholic Church," Przybylska told OSV News.

"Today's youngsters are seeing the joy to be found in faith, but they're also often on their own and need accompanying. Once we build communities together, the numbers will really start mounting."

The latest report confirms data in earlier British surveys, such as a YouGov poll in January, which suggested belief in God among young people had almost tripled since 2021 to 45%.

They also reflect the picture in other European countries, such as neighboring Ireland, where a record number of young adult baptisms were reported at Easter, and France, where 7,400 teenagers were baptized.

One of Europe's top religious sociologists, Austrian Jesuit Father Paul Zulehner, advises caution: While many youngsters are joining churches, many are also leaving them.

Yet the new youth religiosity could indeed, he thinks, indicate a "revolutionary trend," confirming the process of "de-secularization" long predicted by some experts in reaction to today's prevailing nonreligious culture.

"Young people are looking for meaning beyond material success, when such perceptions have become enfeebled in our secularized societies," Vienna-based Father Zulehner told OSV News.

"But many are also experiencing a deep loneliness at a time of eroded family bonds and unstable values. We live in highly pluralist societies, and many young people are sceptical about institutions, including churches. Yet the secular mainstream is clearly generating contrary movements," he added.

Hancock, YFC's ministries director, told OSV News that "It's a mistake to assume young people are automatically liberal -- there's also a real rise in conservative views."

"While some are drawn to the spiritual interactions found in evangelical settings, others are attracted to the rhythm, solace and ritual of more traditional sacramental and liturgical forms. Churches should lean into this and prepare themselves for a possible future mass-scale revival."

Przybylska said her youth teams enjoy strong support from the church's bishops, but admits there are practical challenges, particularly when it comes to translating spectacular events like the Jubilee into a daily life of faith at grassroots level.

"We look to our hierarchical shepherds to guide us in responding authentically -- but the bishops can't be everywhere and need help from the faithful in making things happen," Przybylska told OSV News.

"If a mass revival occurs, I'm sure it will find great leadership. But for now, with local priests and parishes preoccupied with their own daily hardships, it's up to youth groups like ours to keep a wider momentum going."

Father Zulehner, the Austrian expert, agrees.

"Just as Christianity began with Christ and his disciples, so every revolution has begun with just small numbers," he said. "Gospel influences are at work through Instagram, TikTok and the social networks which today's youngsters rely on, and which may ultimately prove as important in finding followers for Christ as the church's institutions and traditions."