The News You May Have Missed: June 2025

A Catholic Coup

A study found that among British members of Gen Z, Catholics now outnumber Anglicans two to one — as Catholicism is rising in the United Kingdom while Anglicanism is declining (Catholic News Agency, April 8). The report from the Bible Society found that Christianity in general is growing in the United Kingdom after decades of decline, driven by young adults — young men in particular. “Over the space of only six years, there has been a significant growth in the numbers of people going to church; Christians are practicing their religion more intentionally; more young people are finding faith; more people are reading the Bible,” the report reads. The youngest group studied is the second most likely to attend church, with 16 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they are monthly churchgoers, compared to 19 percent of those over 65. Additionally, 21 percent of men in the younger group attend church monthly, higher than their female peers at 12 percent. Among those 18- to-24-year-olds, only 20 percent identify as Anglican, down from 30 percent in 2018, compared to 41 percent identifying as Catholic.

A Sign from Heaven

A record-breaking 17,800 Frenchmen were baptized into the Catholic Church during this year’s Easter Vigil, according to an annual survey by the French bishops’ conference (OSV News, April 11). Adult baptisms have skyrocketed, increasing 45 percent compared to 2024 — the highest figures since the creation of the survey in 2002. It’s not a passing trend, but a real “dynamic,” said Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon, and a “sign from Heaven.” Over the past decade, the number of adults baptized at Easter has risen from 3,900 in 2015 to nearly 10,400. “Requests are pouring in,” said Cécile Eon, a national delegate for the adult catechumenate. Eighteen- to 25-year-olds now represent 42 percent of catechumens and have surpassed the 26- to 40-year-olds. “In 80 percent of cases, they come from broken families, with parents who had abandoned the faith,” said Hubert Boüan, who is responsible for catechumens at the Cathedral of St. Louis in Versailles. “But many mention their grandmother and say they remember her going to Mass.”

Not What You Were Hoping For

An Indiana Catholic church caused a worldwide sensation when its parishioners reported that a Communion host apparently bled. The discovery was made at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Morris, but a study requested by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis found that the red marks were not blood, and hence no miracle had taken place; rather, the discoloration was caused by bacteria commonly found on human hands (Daily Mail, March 27). “Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, there have been well-documented miracles and apparitions, and each has been thoroughly and carefully reviewed,” the archdiocese said. Though eucharistic miracles are few and far between, there have been several recently in which a consecrated host did appear to bleed. In 2013 a host that fell to the floor during a Christmas Mass in Legnica, Poland, was put in water to dissolve and turned into type AB blood. A similar instance occurred in 2008 in Sokolka, Poland, when a priest placed a host in a container of water after accidentally dropping it. A week later, a nun observed a red stain, and two separate medical schools found cardiac tissue on the host.