Applications for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) have “more than doubled” on college campuses across the country as Catholic conversions continue to rise, according to recent data.
“On campuses of various sizes across the United States, Catholicism is on the rise,” Hallow reported in an Aug. 19 study that found OCIA participation increased 87.6 percent from the 2024-25 to 2025-26 academic year.
Schools with the largest number of OCIA participants include Texas A&M, Arizona State University, University of Illinois, University of Oklahoma, Kansas State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Nebraska and Harvard University. Hallow said it obtained OCIA data from nearly 60 U.S. colleges and universities.
Texas A&M recorded the largest number of OCIA participants, increasing to 204 candidates and catechumens in 2025-26, up from 121 in 2024-25.
Hallow said campus conversion growth is outpacing diocesan trends, noting that campus parishes and Newman Centers reported faster increases than dioceses, which saw a 38% increase in 2025-26.
“College-age young people may be entering the Church at a faster rate than the general American population,” Hallow said. “And when they enter or return to the Church, they are doing so with a fervor that spreads across multiple ministries.”
Hallow’s report noted that the growth is not just limited to college towns, but that “campus ministries in and around some of America’s largest cities are reporting similar increases.”
“A USC [University of Southern California]located in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, saw a 76% increase in OCIA participation last academic year,” the report said. “Farther north, Stanford, located in the heart of Silicon Valley between San Jose and San Francisco, tripled its number of OCIA candidates and catechumens during the 2025-26 academic year.”
New York University also reported an 88% increase in OCIA participation, while its daily Mass attendance tripled, Hallow’s report said.
Hallow’s report said adult baptisms at Stanford University were unusually high this year. Dominican Father Bart Hutcherson said in the Hallow report that the parish normally records about four adult baptisms annually, but he baptized 16 this Easter, almost all of them Stanford students.
©2026 Catholic News Agency. Published with permission. Original in English: Catholic conversions surge on college campuses, Hallow data shows https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/catholic-conversions-surge-on-college-campuses-hallow-data-shows