As a Catholic raised in Cincinnati, I remain invested in the condition of my faith in my home. In 2022, I wrote for the Lamp (an excellent publication; subscribe here) about the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s project to consolidate churches across its sprawling territory into parish “families,” in which the same priests would serve at multiple buildings.
The story of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is one of retrenchment, but also of hope, and of renewal. In the past, I have relied on another excellent Catholic publication, the Pillar (subscribe here) for information about the decline and growth of Catholicism nationwide. A Pillar analysis last year, for example, found that “Catholics appear to be mimicking the rest of the nation in moving to (and growing in) the South and West,” as I characterized its findings.
Well, all is not lost in Ohio yet. This past Easter, the Columbus St. Thomas More Newman Center welcomed 30 Ohio State University students into the Church at its Vigil Mass. (The center is adjacent to OSU.) According to a Catholic Times article to which the Pillar directed me, 20 students entered last year. And in 2014, eight did.
It may be a small thing. But Catholics should rejoice over any number of converts, especially amid modern headwinds. Recent Pillar reporting, drawing from General Social Survey data, indicates that around 40 percent of those ages 18 to 30 described their religious affiliation as “none,” up from 22 percent 20 years ago. Catholics in the same demographic number around 19 percent, vs. 25 percent 20 years ago. Not even cradle Catholicism is a reliable bulwark: According to the Pillar, “only 54% of young adult respondents in the GSS during 2018-2022 who were raised Catholic still consider themselves Catholic.” (The 54% retention rate is, however, “higher than for any denomination of Protestants,” the Pillar noted.)
So it is heartening to see students at a major public university (the kind of environment not typically associated with virtue) defy modern trends and join the Catholic faith. May others follow their example, and may the rest of us be inspired by it.