![Cardinal in a black cassock with red trim and red skullcap, seated in a leather chair with a microphone nearby.”] ,](https://www.gaudiumpress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Cardinal-Muller--218x150.jpg "Tradition, Authority, and Division: An Interview on the Society of St. Pius X and Vatican II")
Record numbers of French youth turn to Catholicism, driven by a hunger for truth and depth, says Father Gian Strapazzon.
Newsroom (23/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) A quiet transformation is unfolding within France’s Catholic Church. In a time marked by secularism and skepticism, a growing number of youth are choosing to be baptized — responding, as one priest describes, to the “thirst of their souls.”
Father Gian Strapazzon, rector of St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, has witnessed this remarkable revival firsthand. “People are weary of the superficiality they encounter in the world,” he says. “They are seeking the true God, the revelation of God.”
Record Numbers at Easter Vigil
Last year, France celebrated its highest number of adult baptisms in two decades — 10,384 catechumens received the sacrament during the Easter Vigil of 2025. The momentum shows no sign of slowing: several dioceses predict that 2026 could see as many as 20,000 new Catholics.
For Strapazzon, this surge is nothing less than a spiritual awakening. “These are young people seeking something transcendent,” he explains. “They find answers in preaching rooted in tradition — just as it has always been done.”
A Seminary at the Heart of Renewal
Originally from Brazil, Father Strapazzon arrived in France 12 years ago. At St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, the principal formation center for the Institute of the Good Shepherd, he oversees the education of priests trained in the Traditional Roman Rite — a liturgical form that many young Catholics now find profoundly grounding.
“This is what attracts people today,” he says: “truth, seriousness, and depth — a faith that demands something real.” Many new converts, even those from non-Catholic backgrounds, are drawn to the solemn beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass.
The Church Responds to New Growth
To address the influx of catechumens, the ecclesiastical province of Paris has convened a council running through 2027. The goal: to discern how best to guide this growing generation of seekers and ensure that instruction remains faithful and effective.
“It is indispensable,” says Strapazzon. “We must understand the source of this surge in order to offer good solutions. People want Our Lord Jesus Christ — but they must be taught correctly.”
Vocations and the Call to Serve
The revival is not limited to the baptized. Strapazzon notes an increase in applications to the seminary as well. Among the current students are a young man baptized only five years ago and another convert from Islam.
The Church, however, urges prudence. “One must wait at least two years after baptism before entering,” he explains. “It’s one thing to be a Christian, quite another to discern a vocation to the priesthood.”
Despite this deliberate pace, he sees the movement as a sign of vitality. “The Church of Our Lord is always alive,” he says. “Our faith is truly catholic — universal, enduring, life-giving.”
A Living Faith in a Changing World
Strapazzon believes this phenomenon is part of a larger cycle — one that testifies to the Church’s resilience. “When the Church seems to die in one place, it revives in another,” he reflects. “The Holy Spirit constantly moves it and builds it up.”
In an age often defined by digital noise and moral uncertainty, France’s new catechumens — the seekers, the converts, the newly baptized — are becoming signs of something deeper: the enduring human desire for a truth that does not fade.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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