Young People and the Church

Feb 6

I’m not sure if you have noticed it, but it seems to me that more and more young people are coming to Mass. I have no formal data to prove that is true here at St. Francis, but my experience tells me I am seeing more young adults at church. Last year, I had 14 weddings. Fr. Kevin had about the same amount. I must tell you that I was very impressed by many of the couples I worked with last year. They were solid and faithful people. Yes, some get married in the church because of family pressure. I’m sure some of those weddings fit into that category, but many of the couples wanted to be married in the Church and wanted God involved in their lives and in their marriage.

After a bit of research, it seems my experience actually has some validity. The Barna Group, based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, released some interesting findings last September. They reported, “For the first time in decades, younger adults—Gen Z and Millennials—are now the most regular churchgoers, outpacing older generations, who once formed the backbone of church attendance.” Interesting. I’m not making things up! They also said that the “typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times—a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic.” We might ask what the fuss is all about. They’re going to church less than twice a month. That may be true, but The Barna Group’s research also shows that All US Church Adults attend church 1.6 times a month and the sub-groups,
Boomers and Elders, are about 1.4 times a month.

Unfortunately, I could not find the actual study by the Springtide Research Institute but the Diocese of Brooklyn’s magazine, The Tablet, reported on August 7, 2025, that their study showed that “Catholicism is the most popular
denomination among young Christians ages 13-25 in the U.S., with 28% identifying as Catholic in 2024 and 42%
expressing an “undoubting belief” in a higher power.”

I suspect the beauty and depth of our Catholic tradition offers a grounding and a sense of community to not only our young people, but to all of us when we are confronted by a world that seems to be shifting rapidly and becoming more and more fractured. Our faith, rooted in the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ also allows us to see beyond the superficiality our culture often tells us is true and good and connects us to a reality that is beyond ourselves, where we can begin to realize the divine in our lives.

The Catholic Review published on Christmas Day, 2025 an Our Sunday Visitor article, “Trending: A (young) revival in the faith?” They used the University of Notre Dame as an example to point to an increase of people returning to the Catholic Church. Where 82% of the incoming freshman class at the University of Notre Dame are Catholic, last year they had 125 students engage the OCIA process and were fully received into the Church at Easter. They claim that it was the largest group they have had at Notre Dame in at least 25 years.

You may like statistics and all this data, or you may get lost in all the numbers. I have found that statistics can be very helpful. We can draw great insights into the reality of the present and, I believe, they are necessary when making plans for the future. Perhaps you have heard it said that statistics and numbers can be manipulated to emphasis the point of the presenter. That can be the case at times. This is not to say that the data is wrong, but it does confirm that the
interpretation of the data is crucial.

There is another statistic out there that is concerning. The Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, released in February 2025, revealed that for every 100 people who join the Catholic Church, 840 leave. So, there you have it. There is an increase in young people coming to church, but the exodus is still a part of our reality. The question is, where do we want to focus moving forward? Of course, on the former, but also keeping in mind the latter.

To this point, I have two things I would like to share with you.

First is a great shout out to TJ Ball and Luca Salluce, two wonderful teen leaders who are truly a blessing to our
parish. Thank you, Luca and TJ, for all of the work you put the Happy Hippie Trivia Night last Friday. They worked very closely with Colleen Lindsey and Carla Parisi and many others to produce such a wonderful event. Thank you to all those involved and to everyone who attended!
Unfortunately, I was not able to join you, but I look forward to the next one. Please click HERE for more info about this event.

My second point to share with you is the wonderful news that as of February 1st, Eileen G. Bowker is our new Youth Minister. Many of you may know Eileen from Bowker's South Beach Deli in Holgate or the Beach Haven summer haunt, The Holiday Snack Bar, but Eileen is a longtime parishioner and has been deeply rooted in our parish life for years.

She will work closely with Colleen Lindsey, Director of Family Faith Formation, to advance the parish’s long-term vision of making sure that our younger brothers and sisters know they are welcomed and are an important part of our faith community.

She is quite the effective teacher in our Family Faith program and has already been working with youth group retreats, service projects, and many other activities. She is a great collaborator and has the energy of 20 locomotives when I comes to spread the Good News. We want to truly increase the number of our young brothers and sisters who come to Mass, but we also want to make sure that they also develop a profound relationship with Jesus and our Church. Eileen is the perfect one to help us do that. Please help me support and welcome Eileen to this crucial ministry for our parish and for the Church.

I do hope we never get lost in the statistics. They are
important, but what is more important that we remain
faithful to who we are as followers of Christ. That is our greatest witness and what we need to do. Everything else will fall into place because, ultimately, God’s in charge.

Blessings of Peace and All Good on our great parish of St. Francis of Assisi.