Something is happening in American churches, and it did not start with this Lent.

On Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, parishes across the country continued to see the convert catechumens who have been in formation since fall. They will formally enter the Church at the Easter Vigil — the Saturday night Mass before Easter Sunday, April 5 — in numbers that diocesan administrators say they have not seen in years, or in some cases ever.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese expects 8,598 new Catholics this Easter, up from 5,587 in 2025, 3,596 in 2024, and 3,462 in 2023. In Newark, New Jersey, over 1,700 people will join — a 30% increase from 2025 and a 72% jump since 2023. Detroit expects 1,428 new members, the most in 21 years. The New York Times gathered data from two dozen dioceses; every one reported significant increases.

Pope Leo XIV — the first American-born pope — is frequently cited in reporting on the surge, but the numbers in most dioceses began rising before his election. Researchers at the National Catholic Register point to young adults seeking structure, community, and a doctrinal framework that feels durable against what they describe as cultural instability.

Joan Didion understood that Americans convert to things in times of uncertainty — not always to religion, but to whatever offers the clearest story about how to live. The church, for a non-trivial number of people in 2026, is offering that story.

What they're converting from is the more interesting question.

-- MAYA CALLOWAY, New York