Civil authorities, educational institutions and the country's public broadcaster are now formally joining the Catholic Church

PHOTO GALLERY: The traditional Chartres pilgrimage breaks records. Here are the surprising figures that challenge the European narrative of religious decline

What most surprised was not merely the size of the crowd — larger even than last year’s 19,000 pilgrims — but its demographic profile. According to an internal study conducted among 4,610 participants, the average age of the pilgrims was only 22 years old. By comparison, the average age of practicing Catholics in France today is approximately 57.

Vienna’s Silent Transformation: Nearly 50% of students in schools are already Muslim. Only 17% are Catholic

Perhaps no recent controversy symbolizes Vienna’s cultural unease more clearly than the city government’s decision earlier this year not to erect a statue honoring Polish King John III Sobieski. Sobieski led the Christian coalition that defeated Ottoman forces outside Vienna on September 12, 1683, in one of the decisive battles of European history