Catholic Mass attendance returns to pre-COVID rates, new study shows

Catholic church pews are filling up again, with Sunday Mass attendance bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new study.

About 24% of Catholics now attend Mass weekly, matching pre-pandemic rates and marking a recovery from the COVID-era slump when attendance averaged just 15%, according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

Virtual Mass kept participation steady during the pandemic, but in-person worship is now back to normal, with 24% of Catholics attending weekly — up from 15% during lockdowns.

But overall rates for Catholic Mass attendance are relatively low, as broader trends indicate a significant decline in weekly churchgoing across nearly all religious groups. A Gallup survey last year, based on more than 32,000 responses, found that fewer Americans of any faith were attending services regularly than they had in the past two decades.

Catholics ranked fourth among religious groups in weekly attendance, with 23% reporting they go to Mass every week. Including those who attend “almost every week,” the figure rose to 33%, but half of all Catholic respondents admitted they seldom or never set foot in a church.

Protestants reported slightly higher numbers, with 30% attending weekly and 44% nearly every week. Mormons had the strongest attendance, with 54% attending weekly and 67% going almost every week, while Muslims came in third at 28% weekly and 38% nearly every week.

The long-term data reveals a stark shift: Catholic weekly attendance has dropped from 45% in the 2000s to 33% in the 2020s — the steepest drop among major faith groups, according to Catholic online magazine Aletia.

The only religions that have seen an increase in weekly worship attendance over the past two decades are Judaism (+7%) and Islam (+4%).

Mark Gray, CARA’s director of polls, said the post-pandemic Mass attendance recovery is significant, despite the trends.

“It’s something I noticed, and when the Diocese of Arlington [Virginia] posted their October headcount numbers, I thought, all right, I’ll go ahead and put this data out there,” Mr. Gray told OSV News.

The research institute tracked attendance using diocesan surveys and Google Search data, which Mr. Gray says provides a useful proxy for engagement.

A notable exception to the declining attendance trend is the strong turnout for certain Masses. Christmas and Easter consistently bring in large congregations, and Ash Wednesday remains a standout. 

Though it’s not a holy day of obligation for Catholics, Ash Wednesday ranks as the third most-attended liturgy and draws particularly high numbers of young adults.

“If there’s any moment for the church to reach out to young adults, Lent— especially Ash Wednesday — is the time,” Mr. Gray said.