Catholicism quietly growing among young adults in Denver

Among a worldwide revival of Catholicism in Gen Z and millennials, the Archdiocese of Denver is growing quietly and steadily.

Father Ernest Bayer, the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Northglenn, told Denver Catholic, that he often meets people who are interested in the Church.

“Every weekend, somebody comes up to me and says, ‘I want to know more about the Catholic faith,’” he said.

In 2020, the parish had 25 adult baptisms; in 2025, that number has risen to 52.

He noted the story of a man who recently joined Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) classes through the workings of the Holy Spirit: “There was a man who kept biking through our parking lot on the way to work, and finally, one day, he just felt called to go inside and see what was going on. So he wandered in on a Tuesday night, and it was the OCIA class. So he sat down, and then he went through the whole OCIA process and became Catholic.”

Fr. Bayer noted that young adults are especially responsive to the Church’s outreach efforts. Many factors draw youth to the Catholic faith, but the failures of postmodernism, in particular, have left people hungering for truth, according to the pastor.

“I think the current culture in the United States…is starting to seem more and more empty and meaningless,” he said. “It’s not giving people what they really want. It’s not giving them ‘life abundantly,’ or joy. They’re looking for something solid to build their life on and they’re finding it in Catholicism.”

Rachel Carlson, the adult faith formation coordinator at Light of the World Parish in Littleton, added that this desire leads people to the Eucharistic Lord, the only One that can satisfy them.

In the Light of the World parish’s OCIA program, the average age is 31. The program has grown from 18 students in 2024 to 30 students in 2025. There have already been 70 inquiries for the 2026 program. 

Father John-James Arcidiacono, CSJ, parochial vicar at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, said that the current cultural instability leads people to a desire for traditional Catholic values, such as the challenging truths on human sexuality and chastity. 

There were 80 people who received sacraments at Easter vigil this year, a marked increase from three years ago, when there were about a dozen members of the OCIA program.

Fr. Arcidiacano added that the cathedral also ministers to people experiencing same-sex attraction.

“They are coming to the Cathedral because they’re striving to live according to the Church’s teaching on sexuality,” he said, “and there they find that their happiness lies in striving for that.” 

In addition, the cathedral and churches across the diocese are seeing an increase in people who are receiving the sacrament of Confession and the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Marriage preparation classes, Fr. Arcidiacano said, are a good way to get engaged couples who have stopped practicing to begin attending Mass every Sunday again. 

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He also said the beauty of the Church’s architecture and liturgy is drawing in young people. He  shared the story of a young woman who visited the cathedral on a field trip with her high school’s world religions class and decided to begin attending Mass.

“She said she felt the presence of God there more than in any of the other churches,” he said.

The Holy Spirit is at work behind all of these conversions and reversions, the article concluded. 

“I think that deep down, it’s the Holy Spirit tugging at their hearts,” Fr. Bayer said. “Everyone is made for God.”

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