The number of New Jersey residents converting to Catholicism is expected to reach a record-high number this Easter, according to the Archdiocese of Newark.
New Jerseyans are turning to the Catholic church now more than ever, with a 72% increase of registered Catholics since 2023 and a 30% increase this year alone.
More than 1,700 people will be welcomed into the Archdiocese of Newark this Easter, according to new data from the Archdiocesan Worship Office. This includes both those who have never been baptized before and baptized Christians from non-Catholic traditions.
Faith on campus is rising as well, with 27 students going through the conversion process this year. Rev. Nicholas Sertich, director of Campus Ministry, said this trend is a part of a post-pandemic surge.
“There's some 22, 23, 24, 25, and now 26 [students]. We've been around the same number, which is significantly higher than it was before the pandemic,” Sertich said. “So you're looking at between four and ten making all three sacraments, and between 15 and 30, being brought into the Catholic church.”
Sertich noted that many students joining the Church this year come from non-religious backgrounds and are searching for a guiding hand in their adult life.
“They're looking for something deeper and richer in life than simply, wake up, get a degree, go to work, get a job, you know, have a house that's somewhat nice, and then die,” Sertich said. “They're looking for a deeper meaning and deeper purpose, a greater purpose and I think religion is something that kind of at least opens the door to that.”
This year’s class of converts also includes a noticeable increase in young men, Sertich noted.
“ I think that's an interesting thing because there's this whole negative stigma about men that we're not emotional. Which, in my experience, is not the case working with young college age men,” he said. “There's a lot more going on beneath the surface.”
Sister Lety Guadalupe, an assistant campus minister, explained that this generation’s desire to affiliate with the Catholic Church lies in the Church’s growing presence in the digital world.
“There's a lot of good quality media being produced,” she said. “Whereas in the past, it was kind of a cliche that Christian media, Catholic media was like low quality, very poor, kind of a joke. So the quality of the digital engagement is also much better.”
Guadalupe works closely with students throughout their conversion journeys in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), a program that guides individuals through their Sacraments of Initiation.
Guadalupe said organizations like OCIA and Dove open up the conversation of conversion and allow Catholic curiosity to flourish.
“A lot of them will say that their journey of transformation or core classes, the Rome connection, the Dove mission trips, campus ministry events… all those things have been a welcoming opening for them to explore those questions, explore the faith, whether it's Catholicism or just Christianity in general,” Guadalupe said.
Catholic campus organizations have seen an increase in event attendance this year as well, Guadalupe said, with 241 students attending at least one bible study.
“We’re definitely seeing larger numbers in general in campus ministry events,” she said.
Dr. Ines Murzaku, the director of the Catholic Studies program and a professor of religion, said the increase signals a meaningful shift towards faith in our area.
“I think it is a real trend, but not yet proven to be durable at the national level. Locally, Newark’s numbers are too large to dismiss,” Murzaku said. “Its projected Easter-season entrants rose from an implied 991 in 2023 to 1,701 in 2026, a jump of roughly 72% in three years. That looks like a meaningful local surge, not random noise.”
Muzarku believes younger generations are in search of authenticity, and are finding it within the Catholic church.
“It suggests some converts are not just following a relationship or a social network; they are persuaded by Catholicism’s claim to continuity, coherence, and doctrinal depth. For some, its appeal is that it feels like a faith that can be argued for, not just emotionally experienced,” Murzaku said. “I see all of the above among my SHU students, even among those who are not Catholic.”
Echoing Murzaku’s sentiment, Gabriela Tineo, a double major in English and philosophy on the pre-law track, said she was drawn to faith as a freshman because of its fundamental reasoning.
“Toward the end of my high school career and then starting college, I started learning about philosophers and theologians who started attributing more logical arguments to the Catholic faith,” Tineo explained. “And that really drew me in, and the whole idea of faith within reasoning. That really sparked my interest.”
Tineo grew up as what she calls “culturally Catholic.” Her family was religious, but she never practiced her faith individually. What caused her to convert, she said, were moments in her life that she ultimately connected to God’s will.
“In those moments that I would put the scripture alongside these personal experiences I was having, I was like, okay, like coincidences aren't a real thing. Everything happens for a reason,” Tineo reflected. “And this is all part of God's will. And that's when I really felt like the faith was resonating with me.”
For Tineo, the Catholic Church offers trust and stability, something she felt was missing from her life.
“The two main things that I've always said really draw me and keep me with the Catholic Church is community and continuity,” she said. “And I feel like those two things for me together are really hard to find somewhere else.”
Tineo expressed gratitude for OCIA and other opportunities the campus offers to get involved in the church, as her journey of faith was made possible with their help.
“I attribute and credit a lot of my whole process to OCIA cause like I said, despite growing up around Catholicism and kind of like dipping my toe in it, the fact that it offers me the opportunity to actually go through the sacraments…that is just a really big blessing to me,” Tineo said. “It lets me really enter into the fullness of my faith.”
Valerie Tuning, a sophomore biology student, said her path to faith began during her study abroad experience in Rome.
“We saw the Pope within the first few days, and then we went to so many different churches,” Tuning said. “There were times where I would just sit in one of these churches that we were at, and just kind of pray to myself.”
Tuning grew up Episcopalian, but said she felt a deeper connection to the Catholic Church because of its sense of community.
“I feel like the church almost gave me a family that, even if I'm not physically there with them every single day, I know that they're there with me,” Tuning said. “I also found it really comforting that when I was on the other side of the world, I'm still with people of my faith.”
Before her experience in Rome, Tuning said she held herself back from exploring her faith in college because she felt “too busy.”
“I'm a bio major. I need to focus on studying…But when studying abroad, you’re given the opportunity to explore and find your own interests,” she said. “And I ended up exploring this.”
With encouragement from friends and Campus Ministry, Tuning said she was able to move past her initial hesitation and fully consider conversion.
“I was scared that I was going to be overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork I have and doing OCIA at the same time,” Tuning said. “And then I voiced my concerns to my friend…she was like, just go for it because if you don't, then you'll never know what's gonna happen.”
Echoing Tuning’s sentiment, Will Bell, a senior marketing and business analytics major, said his friends drew him to Catholicism because he admired their strong commitment to living authentically.
“They practice it from the moment that they wake up till they go to bed,” he said. “They're thinking about how they can live out a life of faith.”
Bell was raised as an Evangelical Protestant. His decision to convert, he said, was influenced by the Catholic church’s practices and reasoning.
“The biggest thing is communion,” he explained. “The reverence behind that all the people have for communion, which in the Catholic faith is the body and blood of Christ.”
Bell said he truly immersed himself in his faith by living with his friends, who helped him throughout his conversion.
“ I fell in love with the faith by living with the guys around me,” Bell said. “Church isn't just like a Sunday thing for Catholicism. It's every single day you wake up, and that's ultimately what I fell in love with.”
Michela DiLorenzo is a writer for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at michela.dilorenzo@student.shu.edu.
