James O'Reilly
At Kansas State University (KSU), there will be 114 students entering the Catholic Church this coming Easter season. For St. Isidore's Catholic Center at KSU, the conversion surge has come with unforeseen challenges.
RIDGE PINKSTON
Director of OCIA, St. Isidore's Catholic Center at KSU
Yeah, well, certainly space is a problem. We've actually had to split into two classes now, whereas before we only pretty much did one...
So we've had to increase our instructors. Ideally, we would have everyone go to the classes on a weekly basis, but you know, college isn't always consistent and easy.
The increase in students enrolling in Kansas State's program for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults—known commonly as 'OCIA'—is much larger than past years. But this year there are also other differences:
RIDGE PINKSTON
Director of OCIA, St. Isidore's Catholic Center at KSU
This is the year that we've had the least amount of people do it for, say, like relationships, right? Whether that's their parents encouraging them to do it or whether it's romantic relationships. This year in particular, there's a lot of people being prompted by the Holy Spirit is one common response. And then the second one is tradition. So the word 'tradition' is thrown out a lot right now.
Many of those of Evangelical Protestant background coming into the Church, says Pinkston, have also raised another key reason for their conversion: a desire for unity.
Looking forward to next year, meanwhile, it seems that the train of conversions is not losing steam. The number of students registering for OCIA in the coming academic year is larger than it has ever been.
RIDGE PINKSTON
Director of OCIA, St. Isidore's Catholic Center at KSU
I think it's very early, but it does seem like there's a trend. I mean, it's getting to be a lot. I mean, I wake up with, you know, five to 10 emails every day from someone saying, 'Hey, I want to look into this.'
While Kansas State has been the hot-spot for conversions to Catholicism, the surrounding Diocese of Salina is also seeing record numbers of conversions—this is the case even in many rural parishes.
But the wave of Gen Z conversions is hitting the big US cities too, including the biggest in the country: New York.
FR. JONAH TELLER, OP
Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph's Church, NYC
This year at OCIA, we've seen a huge increase in numbers. The year before, we had about 35 people in OCIA total. This year, we went over 100.
Like KSU, converts in New York City cite various reasons for their interest in Catholicism. Some stories are quite amusing...
FR. JONAH TELLER, OP
Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph's Church, NYC
My favorite story is this guy who just emailed the parish office because we were the closest geographical church to where he lived. It wasn't even like Catholic, etc.—he was just like 'I am an atheist who can't stop thinking about God, and it's driving me crazy. And I've got to talk to somebody.' So he ends up in my office, and we have like a few conversations. I suggest that he reads the Gospel of Matthew. And he likes rolls back, he's like, 'I want to become Catholic.' And now he and his wife are both going to be baptized at the Easter vigil and they couldn't be happier.
With the large windfall of Gen Z conversions to the Catholic faith, many local churches and university Catholic centers are now pivoting to address the influx.
