Young Catholics believe Church teaching...they just won't go to Mass

Why a welcoming parish matters more than you think

Most people assume if you believe what the Catholic Church teaches, you are more likely to go to Mass.

But a new study shows the opposite is true.

Belief in core Church doctrines is rising among young Catholics, but Mass attendance is declining.

Most Catholics assume the problem is bad liturgy or terrible homilies. But that’s not the whole picture.

It turns out strong community is the number 1 thing young people want in a parish.

Reclaim “all are welcome”

Devout Catholics need to reclaim the idea of a welcoming community.

For too long, “welcoming parish” meant felt banners, a dusty bingo hall, and watered-down doctrine. The “all are welcome” crowd has owned this language while abandoning orthodoxy and beautiful liturgy.

So devout Catholics set up a false dichotomy. They think welcoming parishes and traditional liturgy are mutually exclusive. Like you have to choose one or the other.

But the statistics don’t bear that out. Even if you have the traditional liturgy and the great homilies, if you don’t have community, people won’t show up.

When asked what was important when looking for a parish, young Catholics said:

1. Warm community (65%)

2. Quality preaching (56%)

3. Traditional liturgy (53%)

Most young Catholics are looking for a warm and welcoming community, by a huge margin.

You could have the most glorious Latin Mass on earth. You could have Saint John Chrysostom himself risen from the dead preaching from the pulpit every Sunday.

But if your parish doesn’t have a good community, young people are less likely to show up.

On the other hand, if you have the nicest ushers in the world and donuts every Sunday but an irreverent liturgy and watered-down preaching, young people are still going to find oyur parish wanting.

For traditional Catholics, that means you still need to focus on building a welcoming community.

For the “Gather Us In” crowd, that means you should try chanting a little bit more. It won’t hurt.

Community is the starting point

Devout Catholics tend to reply, “But Mass is more than just a social club!”

Correct. We don’t go to Mass for community. But we don’t even go for the homily or the liturgy.

We are supposed to go for the Eucharist.

But all three of these things—community, homily, liturgy—support the Eucharist.

Take the sacrament of Baptism, for example. The Church has very simple rules. For a bare-bones valid Baptism, all you need is water on someone’s head and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

That’s it.

But that’s not all we do. We put on a baptismal gown. We give them a candle symbolizing the light of Christ. Godparents sign the cross on their foreheads. We anoint with oil before and after. We chant the Litany of the Saints.

All these “extra” things aren’t strictly necessary. But they’re fitting. These elements serve the sacrament.

The same is true with community and the Mass. Having a strong community better serves the Mass.

For a Mass to be valid, the priest needs to say, “This is my body. This is my blood.” That’s basically it. Good community, good homilies, and good liturgy, all of these “extra” things serve the Eucharist.

Not only does it bond the congregation, it also makes the other two things on the list easier to get.

Most parishes resist traditional liturgy for fear of angering older parishioners. But there’s a tipping point where if enough people want something, it happens. Eventually, it takes more energy for parish administration to resist than to just give in. After all, “liturgy” does mean “the work of the people.”

Most priests don’t do beautiful liturgy because they’re afraid of backlash. But if enough people want it, that fear disappears. Now they’re worried about the backlash from bad liturgy, dusty 70s guitar music, liturgical abuses, etc.

Build the community. The rest will follow.

What you can do

Out of the three top concerns of young Catholics, you and I can only control whether the parish has good community. The good news is, that seems to be the most important one.

So, if you want more young people to show up for Mass at your parish, you need to have a game plan at your parish to make it more welcoming.

And it doesn’t take much.

Just attend the same Mass regularly and talk to new people. Invite them to get food with you after and become their friend. When people are expecting you every week, it’s hard to skip Mass.

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Looking for practical ways to build community at your parish? On Sunday, I wrote a guide for paid subscribers. You can read it with a free trial here.