Sandrine Prioul, edited by Ugo Pascolo / Photo credits: LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP 9:52 a.m., February 21, 2024
All dioceses in France are recording a sharp increase in candidates for baptism. And in Brittany, we even observed an increase of almost 50%. A resurgence of the faithful which mainly concerns young adults, who discover spirituality through social networks.
Thousands of Youtube videos, Titkok... Jingles and modern music... And this is not the latest fashion on social networks, but the new way for priests to bring people into the Church new faithful. And it works, especially among young adults. All dioceses in France are recording a sharp increase in candidates for baptism. In the dioceses of Brittany as in Rennes, there are 70 candidates, an increase of almost 50% which confirms a return of the quest for spirituality.
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A discovery of religion “via Instagram live”
“I have been evangelized a lot via Instagram live broadcasts,” Pauline, a student, explains to Europe 1. “With confinement, I really let myself be touched by the message. And it’s true that our generation will want to show it a lot more whereas before, religion was a little more discreet.”
This student is one of the future Easter baptized people. She will be accompanied, in Rennes, by the priest Nicolas Guillou, all smiles to see the number of baptisms explode in his diocese. “It’s a very significant increase,” he admits. From there to speak of an hour of glory? "I don't know, we're still starting from very low. But the fact remains that today, we see young people who meet God via social networks and who come to see us afterwards. So we will provide the service afterwards. -sale."
And to complete the picture of modernity, the Saturday evening service is celebrated in the presence of a pop praise group, in front of 300-400 faithful.