Nothing helped like Jesus.
For years, Anna Vindel struggled with anxiety and depression, but once she discovered Catholicism, she finally found peace.
In perfect harmony with this season of new life, Vindel took the next step and received the Sacraments of Initiation during the Easter Vigil Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on April 19. The mother of three was elated as she stood among the largest group of catechumens the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has seen in a decade.
“I feel like a beautiful butterfly,” said Vindel, 37. “I cannot believe the transformation, the healing. I wish I had become a Catholic sooner.”
This spring, the archdiocese welcomed a record 5,587 people into the Catholic Church. According to the archdiocese’s Office for Divine Worship, 2,801 candidates — adults and children who had been baptized but had not received the other sacraments of initiation — completed their journey and entered into full communion with the Church. That’s a whopping 84 percent increase from last year, with most of the growth coming from adults.
The remaining 2,786 catechumens — children and adults without any past sacraments — received baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. That number is up 34% from last year.
During the Easter Vigil Mass, Archbishop José H. Gomez told the new Catholics that this “moment of grace” came exactly when it was supposed to.
“Since the day you were born, God has been waiting for this night,” said Archbishop Gomez in his homily. “In your lives, each of you has followed your own path and it has all been for a reason. Whether you were aware of it or not, God has been gently guiding you to this night.”
Father Juan Ochoa, the director of the Office for Divine Worship, points to the increase as proof there’s a trend towards Catholicism that’s been happening in the archdiocese since 2023.
“People have been talking for decades that society is becoming more secular, that no one wants to be in an organized religion,” Ochoa said. “These numbers don’t follow that narrative.
“It’s a sign of hope.”
He suggests the rising tide of local Catholics stems from a “complex” mix of today’s societal needs and the Church’s ability to answer those needs.
“There are a lot of factors in the archdiocese like evangelization programs, great priests, and parishes and lay ministers,” Ochoa said. “But the bottom line is that God himself is acting in our world … and people are deciding ‘I’m choosing to believe, I’m choosing to be Catholic.’ ”
Caterina Krai, the director of sacramental life at the cathedral, says people are making that decision because they’re seeking truth and meaning in their lives. She hears that now more than ever when people begin the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process. She notes young adults, in particular, like the structure of the Catholic Church in an otherwise unpredictable world.
“Everything is permissible, nothing is forgivable,” Krai said. “There is no foundation and people have had enough. They go down on their knees or just ask God, ‘What is truth? Is this all there is?’
“They want something they can build a life on.”
Juan Vilchis was one of those truth-seekers. The 32-year-old was not raised in a religious household and had considered himself agnostic. Yet he found himself questioning his beliefs and started reading about Christian denominations. The more he learned about Catholicism, the more right it seemed.
“Everything fits, everything that’s being taught in the Church is reflected in the Scriptures,” Vilchis said. “That's when I decided I wanted to follow this path.”
Krai frequently hears about the isolation people feel, thus a desire for community is another reason adults are coming to the Church. That’s what drew Amber and Samuel Barnes, who longed to renew their faith and find like-minded friends. Amber was raised Protestant, while Samuel was an unconfirmed Catholic, so the married couple went through OCIA together, another trend that anecdotally appears on the rise.
“We wanted to meet [God] again,” said Amber Barnes, 26. “We wanted to be part of a community. I was craving so hard to be back in church with people who shared the same values.”
With access to faith at our fingertips, Ochoa says anyone can learn about Catholicism. He also points to the popularity of podcasts like “The Bible in a Year” hosted by Father Mike Schmitz and the archdiocese’s engaging “LA Catholics” accounts on social media. He says these evangelization tools are a new twist on an old idea: reach people you normally can’t.
“St. Paul 2,000 years ago used the technology of his time to spread the message of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ochoa said. “And that was through letters. He wrote to different communities. We do the same thing now.”
Social media played a part in the spiritual quest of new Catholic Joshua Flores. After his dad’s passing in 2021, Flores went through a period of self-reflection and began exploring different forms of Christianity. He liked what he heard from the online Catholic community and decided to go to Mass.
“I followed the cathedral’s Instagram and YouTube page,” said Flores, 27. “Then I started going to the Catholic Church and I did feel more of a presence, more of a deeper feeling than I got at a Christian church.”
The archdiocese’s increasing growth in the faithful could also be a lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to statewide restrictions at that time, the archdiocese was forced to temporarily close all churches and postpone most sacraments. Ochoa says only time will tell if the COVID bounceback continues. What he does know is that those who are new to the faith bring a boost to current Catholics.
“Sometimes we who have been cradle Catholics can take our faith for granted,” Ochoa said. “New people come in with a lot of passion, a lot of zeal for their new faith. They bring energy to the Church.”
For Vilchis, the overriding feeling since his baptism is joy, the sacrament gave him a sensation that he’s never experienced before.
“I felt so light and fluffy,” he said. “I joked to the others that if I’m not tied down to something, I’m going to float away.”
