“Here we are”: these French people who are preparing to be baptized during the Easter weekend

Sandrine Prioul (correspondent in Rennes) 7:41 a.m., March 29, 2024

This Easter weekend, French churches will be full. More than 12,000 people will be baptized, an increase of 30% compared to last year. In all the dioceses of France, we rejoice at this renewed fervor while the future baptized are impatient to be at the Easter vigil on Saturday. 

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“I don’t come from a religious family”

In Rennes, Alexis carefully holds his rosary. “He accompanies me in my prayers,” he explains on the microphone of Europe 1. An object that he will hold in the palm of his hand for what he calls, one of the most important moments of his life: his baptism. 

"I don't come from a religious family, on the contrary. But when I was 19, I actually discovered that religion was still very far from what I thought. And little by little, by going to mass from time to time to accompany my friends, I have a bit of a passion that was born in me. And now, here we are, if I believe what I'm told. I hope that all this is true,” he jokes, before assuring that it “will brighten up my life even more.”

Be part of a community

A desire to pray, to take refuge in spirituality in these uncertain times, or simply to be part of the same community, like Catherine, practicing but not previously baptized. “I wanted to be there,” she confides. "I've been preparing for 18 months. So, there are some who will undoubtedly talk about their pregnancy or their professional project. I can easily say that next weekend, I will be baptized. And finally, the people, believers or non-believers, receive this information as a moment of joy and easily share it with me. And that’s great,” she emphasizes. 

A baptism by immersion, prepared as a great celebration for those adults who want to give new meaning to their lives.