Sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit: Sharp rise in catechumens, candidates in diocese mirrors worldwide trend

By Linda Oppelt

The increase in the number of catechumens and candidates entering the Church in the Diocese of Colorado Springs matches the same trend seen in other dioceses and archdioceses throughout the United States and the world.

This Easter, 328 catechumens were baptized in the diocese while 272 candidates entered into full communion with the Catholic Church through the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist — representing a 64% increase from 2025, when there were 206 catechumens and 169 candidates.

Donna Hessel, Vice Chancellor of the diocese, said she first noticed the dramatic increase when parishes started reporting their numbers in early January.  After adding up the number of catechumens, candidates, and sponsors, she realized that more than 1,100 people would be attending the Rite of Election in 2026 — exceeding the capacity of Holy Apostles Parish. As a result, two separate Rites of Election were held on Feb. 22 at Holy Apostles. 

According to Gary Niemerg, Director of Catechesis, Evangelization, and Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Colorado Springs, there are possibly several factors contributing to this increase.

“During COVID, a lot of the numbers dropped typically nationwide," Niemerg said. "It's natural that this might be a little bit of a rebound from that, where people that were thinking about coming into the church then are doing it now . . . I'm hoping there's more to it than that.”

Another factor, says Niemerg, is a search for stability.

“They’re seeing through a lot of the different cultural changes that have been going on in our country. They're not liking it, and I think they're looking for stability . . . a lot of them are finding that the Catholic Church is not moving at the whims of society.”

Another contributor within the Church is the renewed focus on forming disciples and having those disciples evangelize others. Niemerg pointed to the Catherine of Siena Institute and FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), as well as new apostolates such as Inferno Men that are reaching those who are already Catholic and encouraging them to more actively evangelize those around them.

Niemerg also pointed to Catholic media, “that has gotten so much better the last 10-15 years, which bodes well for Gen Z or Gen Alpha, because that’s where they’re at, rightly or wrongly . . .There’s no doubt that’s had an impact, but what percentage of an impact is the unknown.”

Lance Pikaart, Director of Discipleship Formation at Holy Apostles Parish, sought input from the 31 adults currently seeking to become Catholic, asking them “What has led you to seek out the Catholic Church? What brought you here?” Of those who responded, he found three main reasons:

“One is evidence or Church history. People will express, ‘I started doing some research about what Catholics actually believe; or I encountered Father Mike Schmitz's "Bible in a Year" podcast or Matt Fradd's “Pints with Aquinas.” Or they have a Catholic friend who said something and just got them researching more about Catholicism . . . (and found) 'It isn’t what I thought it was.’”

Another common response among those queried by Pikaart was that a close friend or spouse drew them to the Church.  For many, Pikaart said, “their Catholic spouse either started getting more interested in their own faith, or wanted to have their wedding convalidated, and it brought them back to the church.”

One person, even though he was no longer dating a Catholic, “just decided that he wanted to be Catholic because of the influence that family had on him. He learned a lot about Catholicism, saw that there was truth there, and so decided to do this.”

Will Thomas, a candidate at Holy Apostles Parish, grew up Methodist in a faith-filled family. But when he left home and joined the Army at age 17, he stopped going to church. At one point he received a care package while deployed in Afghanistan that contained a prayer card to St. Michael the Archangel.

“I didn't know anything about that, but I kept that with me. I felt attached to it. I still have it to this day.”

Thirteen years ago, he met and married his wife, a cradle Catholic.

“She was not pushy, or anything, about going to church, but she'd always offer. Then I took her up on it,” Thomas said.

“She kind of opened my eyes and I started doing a lot of research online, listened to a lot of audio books, read books, learned a great deal about the history of the Catholic church, and I was pretty amazed.”

“I made the decision that I wanted to become Catholic. I made the decision a long time ago, but I'm just now doing this,” Thomas said, mainly due to his retirement from the Army.

“We're settled down; we're not moving anywhere.”

Thomas has chosen St. Michael as his confirmation saint.

Pikaart also shared the story of one woman coming into the Church because of a fellow volunteer at the Humane Society.

“The volunteer, who is now her sponsor, invited her to the First Saturday Rosary group. She's been attending there for a long time. Her sponsor brought her forward and said she needs to be Catholic.”

 Our Lady of the Pines Parish in Black Forest is seeing the same trend of increased interest in joining the Church. In 2025 they had a total of 30 people entering, while in 2026 they expected to have 83 new Catholics.

According to Susan Brodeur, Catechist, “this is totally different from past years. The younger millennials and the Gen z are done with what the world handed them.”

Many of the younger people entering “are tired of what the world has fed them. They want what God is feeding them instead. They want truth,” according to Brodeur.

They also see the tradition in the Church, and the stability, they didn’t have that growing up.

Many of them, while baptized as infants, are returning after many years because they were never truly catechized properly.

“The Holy Spirit is calling them home,” Brodeur says.

This includes young people who are high schoolers through early 30s. Many of them are friends of young Our Lady of the Pines parishioners and were invited to attend. The welcoming nature of the whole parish helps them to feel a sense of belonging.

This welcoming culture at Our Lady of the Pines starts at the top, Brodeur said. 

“Father Brad (Noonan) has made it such an open and welcoming place. Walk in the doors and you are part of OLP. . . . His main message to newcomers is ‘God loves you and wants you here!’”

This year’s cohort are already excited for mystagogy already, Brodeur added, because they do feel part of that parish community.

“We’re holding onto them with both hands — saying ‘don’t you dare give up!’” as they encounter obstacles, such as friends and family who are against their decision to enter the Church, Brodeur said.

At Sacred Heart Parish, Tiana Zapata is a 27-year-old young adult with two young children, excited to become Catholic. She had no religious upbringing to speak of.

Zapata shared a powerful experience of God when she was 22.

“Several traumatic events had happened. I was having suicidal thoughts, self-harming, anything to distract from the pain. One night I was just at the end and cried out, ‘Jesus, if you’re real, I need help. I can’t do this anymore!’ Suddenly I could feel His presence. It was so real, I could almost feel him physically touching me, and I had such a strong sense of peace. Powerful. It gave me hope.”

Eventually she searched for a local church that would help her grow in her relationship with Jesus and found a non-denominational church that she started attending.

“I was pregnant with my son when I felt I needed to get right with God. I was not married and I knew that wasn’t right. I decided to get baptized. It was an amazing experience. I felt chills all over and when I came up; I felt clean.

"But that feeling didn’t last long," Zapata said. "I continued to sin, and felt confused because I thought the baptism would make me a new person . . . Even though I knew I was being claimed by God there wasn’t much of a difference in my life.”

When people at the church encouraged her to break up with her boyfriend, she quit going there. She offered to go to a Catholic parish with him because he was Catholic, although not practicing at the time.

 “Both our sons were baptized at Sacred Heart, so we had a connection there," Zapata said. "The first time we went to Mass, it was mind-blowing. Not knowing anything that was going on, I just prayed, ‘God, if you want me to be Catholic, and to go to this church, I need to know — give me a sign.’"

“I had a vision of a candle that was flickering down and seemed to be pinched out. In the homily, Father Vincent (Nyugen) used a depiction of the light of a candle to describe faith! I said, ‘Okay God, I hear you loud and clear!’ I just knew that’s what I was supposed to do."

Zapata said she and her fiancé are attending marriage prep classes and looking forward to getting married later in the year.

"The more I’ve learned through the process, the more my doubts were put to rest," Zapata said. "I’m so in love with the Church, and Sacred Heart Parish — it’s really brought my family so close together.”

(Linda Oppelt is administrative assistant for The Herald.)