The number of adults baptized and/or confirmed in Catholic churches across the US this Easter was the most in years, by far. That’s wonderful news: cause for rejoicing.

However Brendan Hodge, writing in The Pillar, cautions us to keep things in perspective. The numbers were actually much higher in the past. Conversions declined steadily from 2000 until bottoming in the lockdown years. They’re now headed back up— thank God for that— but nowhere near the all-time highs.

Meanwhile the numbers of infant baptisms and Catholic weddings continue to decline, while the number of young Catholics leaving the faith keeps growing. We still have a lot of work to do.