Catholic Church attendance is rising, with the number of young people at Mass "way up"
From the Cathedral of the Holy Cross to the Seaport Shrine, parishioners filled Boston churches Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection.
While it's no surprise spots like Our Lady of Good Voyage were standing room-only on Easter Sunday, throughout the year attendance at Catholic churches has been increasing nationwide—a turnaround from years of decline.
"It's happening across the country and certainly here in Boston, too, the number of people receiving baptism or confirmation is up. The number of young people participating at Mass is way up," Boston Archbishop Richard Henning said.
More young people at church
The Archdiocese of Boston says there's been a steady increase over the last four years, including nearly 700 new converts. Young adults are a big portion of the people driving the surge.
"It's not a program or one person. It seems to be happening independently in so many places," Henning said. "So I think this generation just seems open to the call of the Lord in a way that we've not seen in a while."
There were many young faces at the Seaport Shrine Sunday including Caroline Connly, who became a member of the Church late last year.
"When I moved to Seaport last fall, I was really looking to get more involved in the community. I joined a local gym, I'm in book clubs, but church was something that, no matter where I lived, where I went to college, it always felt like home to me," Connly said.
"Closer to the community"
Connly, a lifelong Catholic says she has noticed more people her age turning to religion and the church in recent years.
"I've always had a really strong connection to my faith, but in the past couple years, I do think there's been a rise in sort of looking for a higher power or putting your trust elsewhere," she said. "I think also we're living in kind of a scary political climate, and also the news is a little bit frightening all the time, so I think just having a place where you can feel centered and have peace [is great]."
For her its also a way to grow a sense of community in her new-found neighborhood.
"It's just a really nice place to meet people of like-minded value, in the same age range too. And also to do something outside of drinking or going out. It's so nice to have a community of young adults who you see every weekend, and it definitely makes me feel much closer to the community," Connly added.
