Here Are the Church’s Figures the Pope Will Find in France: The Vatican Publishes Statistics Revealing Trends from 1980 to 2026

The Holy See released a pastoral statistical overview of the Catholic Church in France covering the period from 1980 to 2024. The Central Office for Church Statistics published the figures ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Paris, Lourdes, and Metz.

The total number of baptized Catholics rose from 45.5 million in 1980 to 49.7 million in 2024. This increase stems from population growth and migration from Catholic countries in Latin America, Southern Europe, and Francophone Africa.

Annual baptisms fell from 513,501 in 1980 to 186,165 in 2024, while religious weddings dropped from 217,479 to 40,678 during the same period. The report attributes this decline in the demand for sacraments to a crisis of faith and the abandonment of religious practice in a rapidly changing, secular society.