Hello to everyone, my name is Ian Maile, and I am a graduating senior at the University of Southern California. During my time at USC, I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Rome, Italy, for a semester. During that time, Pope Francis sadly passed away, and I was able to witness the Papal Conclave to elect Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope. Being able to be there during that time was something truly amazing that I will never forget. Growing up Catholic, I have always noticed either older people at church or young families. Over the past couple of years, I have noticed a shift in people my age who are attending mass . After conducting research, I realized this feeling I had is backed up by numbers. Since I wanted to report this in January, I’ve seen other outlets such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Fox News report similar stories. Here I am sharing my report on why there is a rise in Generation Z Catholics.
