Five big trends in new global Church data

New numbers underline the trends defining the global Church in the 21st century.

In recent years, the Vatican has offered a snapshot of the latest global Catholic statistics each March.

A pilgrim wears a Pope Leo XIV T-shirt in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025. © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.

The figures are drawn from two sources: the Annuario Pontificio, a chunky red book known in English as the Pontifical Yearbook, and the Annuarium Stati…