Adult baptisms surge again in Belgium
Dioceses report an almost 30% increase compared to 2025.
The number of adult baptisms in Belgium is expected to surge again in 2026, after dioceses reported an almost 30% increase in candidates compared to 2025.
The Catholic Church in Belgium said Feb. 18 that the number of adults seeking baptism has risen to 689 in 2026, from 534 in 2025.
The new figures confirm that Belgium, long considered one of Europe’s most secularized nations, is seeing an adult “baptism boom.”
The number of anticipated adult baptisms in 2026 is three times higher than in 2016, when there were 229. After years of steady growth, the figure began to climb steeply in 2024, mirroring the trend in neighboring France.
Belgium is a country bordering France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg that has a population of nearly 12 million people, roughly half of whom are baptized Catholics.
Sunday Mass attendance has plunged sharply since the 1960s, with just 173,000 people present regularly in 2024. The total number of baptisms, including those of infants, has also fallen relentlessly since the Sixties. The decline has continued in recent years, dropping from 51,000 in 2017 to 30,000 in 2024.
The uptick in adult baptisms does not offset the ongoing drop in infant baptisms, but it is nevertheless a source of joy for Belgium’s Catholics.
A Feb. 18 report for cathobel.be, the official news site for French-speaking Belgium Catholics, was headlined “Adult and teen baptisms: the increase is accelerating!”
A Feb. 18 article for otheo.be, a news site for Flemish-speaking Belgium Catholics, noted that “religion appears not to be so dead and gone after all.”
It said: “The arrival of converts/baptismal candidates masks the decline of infant baptism. In certain regions of Flanders [Belgium’s northern Flemish-speaking region], only 10% of newborns are baptized.”
“One does not replace the other and thus, in fact, creates a totally different kind of Church institution. It is the transition from cultural Christianity to a Christianity of conviction.”
Belgium is divided sharply along linguistic lines. The divisions are also reflected in the Catholic Church, where dioceses are categorized as either predominantly French-speaking or Flemish-speaking.
The French-speaking dioceses of Liège, Namur, and Tournai have notably high 2026 adult baptism figures, suggesting the phenomenon of rising numbers might be associated with Francophone culture.
But the largely Flemish-speaking dioceses of Antwerp and Ghent also have substantial numbers of adult baptisms this year.
The website otheo.be commented: “There appear to be significant differences between dioceses. Brussels and Tournai score the highest. These are areas where secularization has a long history, but where a new dynamic has also emerged.”
“In rural Flanders, many people are still baptized as children, and when they find their way to the Church, they are not included in these statistics. It is better to refer to them as ‘newcomers’ or ‘returnees.’”
The Mechelen-Brussels archdiocese, the country’s most populous diocese, is bilingual. It is composed of three vicariates, Flemish Brabant and Mechelen, Brussels, and Walloon Brabant. Brussels and Walloon Brabant have significant French-speaking populations.
The highest number of adult baptisms in 2026 is in Brussels (152), which is the second most populous of three vicariates, after Flemish Brabant and Mechelen (53).
Adult candidates for baptism, known as catechumens, will attend rites of election in Belgium on Sunday, Feb. 22, publicly manifesting their desire to receive the sacrament. They will be baptized at the Easter Vigil, which will be celebrated April 4.
Meanwhile, early figures suggest the number of adult baptisms is also continuing to rise in France.
The Archdiocese of Paris estimates that 786 adult catechumens will be baptized at Easter this year, an increase from 671 in 2025 and 522 in 2024, the La Croix newspaper reported Feb. 18.
The western Diocese of Nantes also expects to see a rise to 226 adults, from 170 the previous year.
More than 10,000 adults were baptized in France in 2025 — a 45% increase on the year before.