In a country long considered a cautionary tale of rapid secularization, something unexpected happened this Easter 2025. 70 adults were baptized into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil in Dublin, marking the highest number of adult baptisms in recent memory for the Irish capital. For a diocese once reeling from a sharp decline in religious affiliation, this development hints at a quiet, complex resurgence of faith—especially among young adults and new arrivals to Ireland.

 

Two decades ago, Dublin was a city of 1.1 million, with 90 percent identifying as Catholic. Today, its population has swelled to 1.6 million, but only 66 per cent still claim the Catholic label. The intervening years were marked by public disillusionment, catalyzed by clerical abuse reports, government-backed social reforms such as abortion and same-sex marriage legalization, and a broader cultural shift away from institutional religion.

Yet, the 2025 Easter Vigil tells a different story. Among those baptized was Mahon McCann, a young Irish man raised militantly atheist, who never attended Mass growing up and viewed religion with suspicion. “I was raised to believe Christianity was a lie, something outdated and disproven,” McCann said in an interview with Catholic News Agency. And yet, here he is—newly baptized, trying to go to Mass weekly, fasting occasionally, reading Scripture, and seeking a faith-based community.

 

McCann is not alone. According to Patricia Carroll, head of the Office of Mission and Ministry for the Dublin Archdiocese, a convergence of factors explains this new wave of adult converts. Many are immigrants from traditionally Catholic countries like Poland and the Philippines. Others are Irish-born seekers, some of whom were raised by parents who chose not to pass on the faith—but whose children are now coming to it on their own terms.

To meet this unexpected demand, the diocese has scaled up its adult catechesis program. In May alone, 52 lay people completed certification to become catechists. Carroll emphasizes that this is not incidental—it’s a strategic priority. “We’ve been intentional about forming and placing catechists throughout the diocese,” she said. “And now we’re starting to see the fruit

While adult baptisms remain a small slice of the overall Catholic population, their symbolic weight is significant in a society often painted as post-religious. Census data from Ireland reveal that while the absolute number of self-identified Catholics—around 3.5 million—has remained relatively stable over the past two decades, the percentage has fallen dramatically, from 88 percent in 2002 to just 69 percent in 2022. That drop, however, is partially the result of demographic transformation. Ireland’s total population has surged to over 5.3 million, fueled in part by waves of immigration. Among those newcomers are not only secular professionals but also practicing Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and evangelicals.