(ZENIT News – OMPress / Leopolis, 03.25. 2026) – Although the Church in Belgium has faced a profound crisis marked by secularization and a significant decline in the number of priests, this year has seen an increase in the number of people coming to the faith. At Easter Vigil, there will be a 30% increase in adult baptisms compared to last year.
There were 2,774 diocesan priests in Belgium in 2017. The figure for the previous year was 1,678. A decrease of more than a thousand priests in eight years. But, on the other hand, the decline in total baptisms has slowed, with 29,769 baptisms in 2014. There has been an increase in the number of adult baptisms, which, from 362 in 2014 and more than 500 last year, will reach 689 this year. This was the number of catechumens who experienced the Rite of Election on February 22, which took place in each diocese. The next step will be to receive Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist during the Easter Vigil on the night of Easter Sunday.
The Belgian Church itself acknowledges that Pope Francis’s visit in September 2024 gave impetus to evangelization and to being a missionary Church. The Pope called on the Belgian faithful not to remain «centered on themselves,» but to go out and listen, understand, and accompany others.
