Harvard’s Quiet Catholic Revival

It is entirely reasonable that rising conversion among young people to the Catholic Church has happened outside of her most prominent universities. Apart from a select few whose students arrive already enlivened by faith, many of her institutions have neglected their mission to hand on the truths handed to them, attracting a nominally Catholic student body where the faith is not treated with the rigor or reverence it merits. Instead, news of large classes of students received into the Church has come primarily from public universities, especially in the South and Midwest. Land-grant Catholicism is certainly having a moment. 

But the reports that have drawn the most surprise come from our nation’s elite institutions. I serve as the undergraduate Catholic chaplain at Harvard University, where last year more than forty students and faculty were either baptized or received into the Catholic Church. We expect at least sixty this year, along with many more who will complete their sacraments of initiation. 

This is substantial growth. Just a few decades ago, that number at Harvard was consistently smaller than ten. Over the past five years, it has increased steadily, growing to double digits, then doubling, then doubling again. 

This phenomenon is not unique to Harvard. Anecdotally, friends who serve in similar roles at Dartmouth and Brown report a comparable increase. I suspect the causes of such growth are shared by both Ivy League and Big Ten schools, but I’ll posit a few factors that seem to be at play here. 

First, grace is real. Each conversion is through the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts of young people. 

Second, Catholicism is countercultural in a way that hasn’t been true for generations. Students come from a broad range of backgrounds, but all share the inherent human desire for a sense of meaning and culture that is given a terminus in the Church. She can speak to those who find themselves without roots. The Church provides a complete account of what it is to be human. When she does so boldly, seekers find their answer.

The role of a Catholic student center, which has a particular privilege in a secular institution, is to provide the faith and culture of Catholicism. A student’s engagement begins with meeting the Lord, is strengthened through inquiry, and is sustained through a life of prayer and liturgy. The depth, and even difficulty, of the faith is what is attractive. Providing a place in which students can engage with it helps any campus ministry flourish. 

Practically, this means providing a refuge of prayer, intellectual engagement, service, and fraternity. Independent of the institution of the university, without needing to absorb its commitments, a Catholic student center can serve that purpose directly and without scruple. 

The third factor in student conversions is a lack of rigor among alternatives. The desire for meaning and culture is universal, but few other traditions seem willing to provide answers. Liberalism cannot tell you why existence is good, or even why it is good that you exist. The Church steps into this void not as a combatant but as a refuge. 

Finally, there are dynamic witnesses to the gospel here at Harvard who encourage others to encounter Christ. Few people are moved to convert solely by a beautiful liturgy. Fewer still are swayed by apologetic argument or syllogism. Most come to know the faith through the mediation of others. 

At Harvard, it often begins with an athlete’s inviting teammates to a Bible study or a friend who can give an account of his or her hope. Students meet faithful Catholic students at our large weekly dinners or encounter a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary doing outreach in the Yard. Almost everyone who begins the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) begins his or her journey through the encouragement of a peer. 

This does not mean that American Catholicism is on stable footing, or even that Mass attendance is anywhere near what it was thirty years ago, let alone in the mid-twentieth century. But it is evidence of grace at work in the hearts of young people. What is happening here at Harvard should provide hope for all who viewed the Church as moribund in all but a few enclaves. 

There is a generation of young Catholics, confident in their faith, who will shape American life in the coming years. To be a Catholic now involves true courage every step of the way, a courage not demanded in earlier times. Harvard is an institution full of students capable of forming our culture. The more who know God and themselves, the better our society will be.