The Under-the-Radar Growth of Catholic Commitment, Phil Lawler

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture, June 13, 2025

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org.

“It’s happening again this year. It happens every year.”

That’s how I opened a post that appeared in this space two years ago. Sure enough, it’s happening this year too.

It begins right after Ash Wednesday, when we begin to notice some new faces in the congregation at the little chapel where we attend the early-morning Mass on weekdays. Many of the same faces show up throughout Lent, and when Easter arrives, more than a few continue to come to daily Mass. So bit by bit, the congregation grows.

When we first began attending Mass daily at this chapel, we could expect maybe a dozen people, on average, at the early Mass. Now the congregation usually numbers over 20, and empty pews are hard to find. …