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Is the number of adults becoming Catholic still rising?

Here's what the numbers show.

Luke Coppen
Feb 26, 2026
∙ Paid

Adults preparing to join the Catholic Church at Easter gathered at cathedrals across the world last weekend.

The Rite of Election at St. George’s Cathedral, Southwark, England, on Feb. 21, 2026. © Alvaro Garcia/rcaos.org.uk.

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They were there to attend a ceremony known as the Rite of Election, a crucial stage in the initiation process in which they publicly manifest their desire to become Catholics.

The ceremony’s public nature offers a rare opportunity to gauge how many adults are seeking to become Catholics in each diocese in a given year.

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