Returning to the fold? Some young Spaniards embrace Catholicism and can’t wait for Pope Leo’s visit
Youth movements and adult baptisms are rising as 80% of Spanish adults were raised Catholic, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey.
- Pope Leo XIV begins his trip to Spain on June 6, where he will hold a prayer vigil with young people in a vast Madrid public square.
- Following Spain's transition to democracy, the country experienced a "divorce between popular piety and the church's religious culture," explained Mónica Cornejo Valle, religion professor at Complutense University in Madrid.
- Youth movements like Hakuna, which boasts 35,000 members, are driving this resurgence; Sara Cabral, 26, credits her embrace of Catholicism to the group after feeling a "restlessness about an emptiness."
- Rev. Josetxo Vera, spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops Conference, noted the youth interest "bursts forth from heaven," while reports show more than 13,300 baptisms of people older than 7.
- On June 10, the pope will celebrate Mass and inaugurate the new tower of Jesus Christ, marking a pivotal moment for young people balancing secular life with newfound religious identity.
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Returning to the fold? Some young Spaniards embrace Catholicism and ca
Until three years ago, Sara Cabral’s faith experience was on trend with other Southern European youth — a “Catholic but never practicing” upbringing with little relevance to her life on Spain’s Canary Islands. Then she listened to a song from a faith youth group that felt as if God were speaking to her. She joined the group, and now in addition to its weekly adoration with music sessions, Cabral is excitedly preparing to attend Pope Leo XIV ’s M…
Associated Press News
Returning to the fold? Some young Spaniards embrace Catholicism and can’t wait for Pope Leo’s visit
Traveling to Spain in June and France in September, Pope Leo XIV will find traditionally Catholic but now staunchly secular countries with an abundance of historic churches but few people in the pews.
Until three years ago, Sara Cabral’s experience of faith was in harmony with that of other young people in southern Europe: a upbringing of “Catholic, never practicing”, with little relevance for her life in the Canary Islands, in Spain.
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