State Catholic leaders see positive momentum with Pope Leo XIV
HARTFORD Conn. (WTNH) — With the election of a new pope dominating headlines and social media feeds around the world, Catholics in Connecticut are optimistic that renewed attention on the Church will help them build on recent growth.
In the past few years, Church leaders say they've seen a resurgence of interest and attendance.
Connecticut church leaders, lawmakers react to election of new pope
'We've been seeing significant growth in numbers,' said Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford.
Coyne pointed to increased mass attendance in the diocese and an increase in vocations to the priesthood. He noted that much of the church's growth has happened among college-aged churchgoers.
On campuses from Fairfield to Hartford, mass attendance has spiked in recent years, so much so that Coyne said some college parishes have had to find bigger spaces to hold Sunday services.
Alexander Walton, a graduate student at Yale Divinity School, said he's observed increased interest in Catholicism among his peers. Walton himself is a recent convert to the faith as well.
'I think the Holy Spirit is trying to work throughout the world and talk to people who feel lost or feel insecure in this new modern age and I think young people are at the forefront of it,' Walton said. 'I think God's working hard and I think a lot of young people are trying to be open and make sense of the world and they find a lot of love and fraternity in the Catholic Church.'
Bishop Juan Betancourt, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford, said he expects the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV will continue the work Pope Francis undertook to instill a spirit of 'new evangelism' among the world's youth.
'Pope Leo said, like the arms of St. Peter's Basilica, the church welcomes everyone,' Betancourt said in an interview with News 8's Dennis House. 'This is something that I trust that he will keep in mind — something that will be very important in his pontificate. To receive everybody. That will be his message. Everybody is welcome into the church.'
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