Crux

Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France in late September, an expert in the history of French Catholicism has said a recent increase in adult and adolescent baptisms in the country is a modestly positive sign that doesn’t “compensate for the collapse in infant baptisms.” Leo is set to visit France from Sept. 25-28. In the European country, this year there were 21,386 adults and teenagers aged between 11 to 17 baptized during the Easter Vigil, an increase from 17,788 in 2025. At the same time, this August, France enacted a law allowing establishing a right to “aid in dying” after a protracted process in France’s parliament. Speaking to Crux Now, Guillaume Cuchet, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and an expert in the history of Catholicism, was cautious about the idea that France was experiencing a significant revival of the faith. While acknowledging the “significant increase in the number of baptisms of young people and adults”, he said other “indicators of religious sociology—Sunday Mass attendance, religious weddings, infant baptisms, attendance at catechism classes, etc.—continue to decline.” “In any event, the increase in adult baptisms does not statistically compensate for the collapse in infant baptisms, even though one can always take comfort in the view that the former are more meaningful in qualitative terms,” he added. “The fact remains that something has clearly happened for this increase to occur. It is a good sign, but it is modest,” Cuchet said. In a wide-ranging interview with Crux Now, Cuchet also said that Catholicism is now a “minority religion” in French society, with many viewing the religion with indifference. “Catholicism has become a minority religion, and Catholic culture itself is no longer known or understood by many people,” he said. “Public opinion, and young people in particular, is generally not hostile; it is more a matter of indifference. However, the scandals associated with the so-called “sexual abuse” crisis within the clergy have done considerable damage,” he explained. In this context, Cuchet also said “we should not expect too much” from Leo’s visit, even though the pontiff “enjoys a positive image across the various currents that make up Catholicism.” The full interview with Cuchet and Crux Now is below. Crux Now: Pope Leo XIV is visiting France at a particularly interesting time for French Catholicism. How should we interpret the widely reported rise in the number of baptisms, at the same that France has legalized euthanasia? Guillaume Cuchet: These are two different things. The legalization of “aid in dying” (a combination of euthanasia and assisted suicide) is the culmination of a debate that dates back to the 1970s in France and which took a long time to reach a conclusion, unlike the “voluntary termination of pregnancy” (abortion), which was legalized as early as 1975 and enshrined in the Constitution in 2024. The rise in the number of baptisms is recent—we have mainly been hearing about it since 2019—and no one can say how long it will last or how far it will go. For the time being, it is reflected above all in a significant increase in the number of baptisms of young people and adults. Other indicators of religious sociology—Sunday Mass attendance, religious weddings, infant baptisms, attendance at catechism classes, etc.—continue to decline. In any event, the increase in adult baptisms does not statistically compensate for the collapse in infant baptisms, even though one can always take comfort in the view that the former are more meaningful in qualitative terms. The simple random distribution of metaphysical concerns among the mass of French people who have not been baptized since the 1960s and 1970s might be enough to explain it. The fact remains that something has clearly happened for this increase to occur. It is a good sign, but it is modest. How is Catholicism perceived within French society as a whole? And more broadly, what role does religion play in French society today? Until quite recently, Catholicism was a shared point of reference for all French people, even though levels of belief and religious practice varied greatly. France was both the “eldest daughter of the Church,” as the traditional expression has it (although the phrase itself only dates from the nineteenth century), and the country of the Revolution and militant anti-clericalism. Even in the early 1960s, nearly 95 percent of children born each year—it was the era of the Baby Boom—were baptized within three months of birth. That is no longer the case. Catholicism has become a minority religion, and Catholic culture itself is no longer known or understood by many people. Public opinion, and young people in particular, is generally not hostile; it is more a matter of indifference. However, the scandals associated with the so-called “sexual abuse” crisis within the clergy have done considerable damage. You have worked extensively on the decline of French Catholicism during the twentieth century. In your view, what were the main causes of this decline? It cannot be summed up in a few words. There are sociocultural causes as well as others that are more specifically religious. In any case, the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) did not produce the positive effects that had been expected of it. It is a long and complex history that began in the 1760s, even before the Revolution, and which was not a linear process, nor homogeneous across society or geographically. There were periods of revival and decline, of ebb and flow. For a long time, one of the defining characteristics of French Catholicism was its extraordinary geographical contrasts, illustrated by a famous document, the Map of Religious Practice in Rural France, known as the “Boulard map” (named after its creator). On an ordinary Sunday in the 1950s, the rate of religious practice in a large village of 2,000 inhabitants in northern Vendée could reach 95 percent, while 150 kilometers farther away, in the Limousin, it was close to 0 percent. Nowhere else in the world were such differences to be found. How does the history of Catholicism in France differ from that of its European neighbors? And what do these different histories have in common? France was long regarded as “the eldest daughter of the Church,” both because of the early conversion of its kings to Catholicism (at a time when Arianism was gaining ground), beginning with Clovis around 496, and because, even in the nineteenth century, it was the world’s leading Catholic power in demographic terms (today that is Brazil). On the eve of the First World War, three-quarters of the world’s Catholic missionaries were French. All the countries of Western Europe, whether they have a predominantly Catholic or Protestant culture, have experienced similar processes of religious decline, generally referred to as secularization. The pace and forms are not the same, but the overall trend is widespread. Do you think Catholicism is currently experiencing a genuine revival in France? It is too early to say. We have already seen movements of this kind in the past, particularly under John Paul II: they did not reverse, or even simply stabilize, the trend. We therefore need to remain cautious. The future will tell us whether this is merely a passing episode or the beginning of a more substantial upswing, such as the Church experienced between 1830 and 1860 or between 1930 and 1960. It is good news for the Church in France, and something that was unexpected, but it needs to be put into perspective. Islam and evangelical Protestantism in France are also experiencing strong growth. How has the Church in France had to adapt its approach to evangelization? Are there lessons to be drawn from this that could be useful to the Church as a whole? The Church in France has a very rich experience in this area, although it is not certain that it has always retained a very precise memory of it. It has often been innovative, from the invention of popular missions within France in the seventeenth century (a kind of collective retreat lasting several weeks and organized within individual localities) to the worker-priests in the aftermath of the Second World War. Today, it faces new challenges, notably that of maintaining a presence across French society with reduced resources, or ensuring its presence in rural areas even as it tends to concentrate in towns and, increasingly, in large cities. How is the Pope’s visit perceived in France? What impact do you think it might have? French Catholicism has traditionally been quite Roman-oriented (in the nineteenth century, the term “ultramontane” was used). It was even sometimes said that the French, who became republicans relatively early, had transferred their monarchical sentiment onto the person of the Pope. John Paul II was very popular. Pope Francis could be disconcerting because of some of his rather unflattering remarks about Europe and his emphasis on the “peripheries” of the Catholic world. Leo XIV enjoys a positive image across the various currents that make up Catholicism, but he is not yet well known. His visit could help strengthen the revival currently under way; the response to his recent encyclical on AI has been significant. Nevertheless, perhaps we should not expect too much from it.

Crux’s Newsletters

Catholicism is a ‘minority religion’ in France, expert tells Crux Now ahead of pope’s visit

Premium article: Catholicism is a ‘minority religion’ in France, expert tells Crux Now ahead of pope’s visit

Pope Leo publishes first book of his pre-papal writing

Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it’s Vatican employees who get the gift

Premium article: ‘The Church will always believe in peace talks,’ says top Church mediator in Colombia

Premium article: Top European bishop to Crux Now: Fear of immigration shows Europe’s identity crisis

Pope’s visit to France likely to attract 1M people, with Mass and vigil in Paris and Lourdes trip

Body of war criminal Mladic lies in state at Orthodox church in Serbian capital ahead of funeral

German far-right wins state elections after local church’s warnings

Premium article: Last vestige of anti-Catholic laws in Britain ending not a sign of Church revival

‘Century of martyrdom’: Vatican commission has recorded death of over 1700 martyrs in the 21st century

Pope Leo publishes first book of his pre-papal writing

Pope commemorates 9/11 attacks with prayers for peace and for those who died

Crux. Anytime. Anywhere.

Premium article: Catholicism is a ‘minority religion’ in France, expert tells Crux Now ahead of pope’s visit

Pope Leo publishes first book of his pre-papal writing

Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it’s Vatican employees who get the gift

Premium article: ‘The Church will always believe in peace talks,’ says top Church mediator in Colombia

Premium article: Last vestige of anti-Catholic laws in Britain ending not a sign of Church revival

‘Century of martyrdom’: Vatican commission has recorded death of over 1700 martyrs in the 21st century

Pope Leo publishes first book of his pre-papal writing

Pope commemorates 9/11 attacks with prayers for peace and for those who died

Premium article: Top European bishop to Crux Now: Fear of immigration shows Europe’s identity crisis

Pope’s visit to France likely to attract 1M people, with Mass and vigil in Paris and Lourdes trip

Body of war criminal Mladic lies in state at Orthodox church in Serbian capital ahead of funeral

German far-right wins state elections after local church’s warnings