Church in Paris convenes council to respond to increase in adult baptisms

How can the local Church respond to the growing number of adult baptisms in France? The bishops of the Paris region will reflect on this and other questions during a provincial council that is taking place from Jan. 25 of this year to May 2027.

France recorded a total of 10,384 adult catechumens in 2025, representing a 45% increase compared with the previous year and the highest figure in the last 20 years.

This surprising number, marked by a notable generational shift and the increasing number of young adults seeking the sacraments of Christian initiation, opens a new pastoral horizon in France.

In light of this situation, the eight dioceses of the Île-de-France region of Paris — headed by the Archdiocese of Paris — along with the diocese of the French Armed Forces, will meet in a council titled “Catechumens and Neophytes: New Perspectives for the Life of Our Church in Our Dioceses,” with the aim of finding an appropriate response and establishing common guidelines at the provincial level.

As the Ecclesiastical Province of Paris, which covers the Île-de-France region, points out, since the Second Vatican Council, bishops of a province have been encouraged to discern the advisability of convening a council. Since then, only seven provincial councils have taken place worldwide.

Once the council concludes, its results will be presented in Rome for approval. Although the bishops specify that it is “a council, and not a synod,” they state that it will be held in the spirit of a “synodal approach” and of “walking together.”

3 different stages

The council will unfold in three main stages. The first phase of consultation, which aims to guide the future deliberations of the provincial council itself and to understand how the local Church is called to transform itself, will begin on Jan. 25 and go through July 1.

In this first stage, feedback will be gathered from catechumens, neophytes (newly baptized individuals), priests and deacons, those involved in the catechumenate (teams, facilitators, and mentors), as well as from parishes, movements, chaplaincies, schools, and higher education institutions.

The stage known as “deliberation” will begin in May of this year, with various sessions taking place in October 2026, January 2027, and May 2027. Finally, a last stage of “reception” will be carried out in which, after approval by the provincial bishops, recognition by the Holy See, and ecclesial acceptance, the guidelines will be implemented in each diocese.

At the same time the provincial council encourages the other dioceses outside the Île-de-France region to launch different parish initiatives with specific liturgical proposals focused on the participation of the newly baptized in the liturgy.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.