Catholic conversions surge on college campuses, Hallow data shows

Registration for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) has “more than doubled” on college campuses across the country as Catholic conversions continue to rise, according to recent data.

“On campuses of various sizes, all across the United States, Catholicism is on the rise,” Hallow reported in an Aug. 19 study that found that OCIA participation increased by 87.6% from the 2024-25 school year to 2025-26.

Schools with the largest number of OCIA participants include Texas A&M, Arizona State University, the University of Illinois, the University of Oklahoma, Kansas State University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Nebraska, and Harvard University. Hallow said it obtained OCIA data from nearly 60 U.S. colleges and universities.

Texas A&M saw the largest number of OCIA participants, increasing to 204 candidates and catechumens in 2025-26 from 121 in 2024-25.

Hallow said campus conversion growth is outpacing diocesan trends, noting that university parishes and Newman Centers reported faster increases than dioceses, which saw a 38% rise in 2025‑26.

“College-age young people may be entering the Church at a faster rate than the general American population,” Hallow said. “And when they enter or return to the Church, they’re doing so with a fire that spreads across various ministries.”

Hallow’s report noted that growth is not limited to college towns alone but that “campus ministries in and around some of America’s largest cities are reporting similar increases.”

“USC [University of Southern California], located in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, saw a 76% increase in OCIA participation this past school year,” the report said. “Further north, Stanford, located in the heart of Silicon Valley between San Jose and San Francisco, tripled its number of OCIA candidates and catechumens during the 2025-26 school year.”

New York University also reported an 88% increase in OCIA participation while its daily Mass attendance tripled, the Hallow report said.

The Hallow report said adult baptisms at Stanford University were unusually high this year. Dominican Father Bart Hutcherson said in the Hallow report that the parish typically sees about four adult baptisms annually, but he baptized 16 this Easter, nearly all of them Stanford students.