Pope Leo XIV and Anglican Archbishop Stephen Cottrell of York, left, lead midday prayer with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican Oct. 23, 2025. (Photo: CNS/Vatican Media)
JAMAICA — For the first time since the start of the Reformation in England, nearly 500 years ago, a pope and a British monarch prayed together on Oct. 23.
The ecumenical moment in the Sistine Chapel highlighted Pope Leo XIV’s welcoming of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the Vatican — an occasion marked by exchanges of gifts with lavish pomp and pageantry.
The historic meeting coincided with what has been termed a “Quiet Revival” of Catholicism in the United Kingdom, where Anglicanism — the Church of England — has been the dominant religion since 1534.
Take, for example, comments from one young man, Frederick, in a recent video from the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in England. This gentleman — with whiskers that could beat King George V in a mustache contest — shared in the video the joys of his conversion to Catholicism.
“I wasn’t raised going to church,” he said. “So, I came to that journey myself. Having now been given access to the sacraments, I just feel that I’m constantly brought in when I might have previously been confused or lost.”
Frederick said the Eucharist is the most important sacrament.
“To be brought into that every Sunday is just a complete joy,” he said. “Really, I wish I’d come over to the Catholic Church a lot sooner.”
Frederick is an example of young Brits described in a study released last spring in the United Kingdom that shows growing church attendance of young adults, especially young men. Many, according to the report, are choosing the Catholic Mass over Anglicanism.
Frederick, who converted to Catholicism two years ago, recently shared the joys of his faith in a videotaped interview with the Archdiocese of Southwark, England. A recent study showed that Britain, a bastion of Anglicanism, is experiencing a “quiet revival” of Catholicism. (Photo: Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Southwark)
Titled “Quiet Revival,” the report was drafted by the Bible Society and the international research firm YouGov. It traced rising church attendance in England and Wales, based on 13,146 interviews with young adults last November.
The data showed that 41% identified as Catholic, up from 22% in 2018, while 20% identified as Anglican, down from 30%.
That’s an eye-catching statistic, considering how the Protestant Reformation planted roots in England in 1534, soon followed by King Henry VIII’s split with Rome that resulted in the executions of Catholics who disagreed with him.
Fast forward to today, “Quiet Revival” has grabbed the attention of Catholic clergy and researchers across the pond in the U.S.
“Taking that survey at its face value, what we’re getting is a narrative that is true in the United States as well as in Britain,” said Dr. Christopher Denny, a theology professor at St. John’s University.
The common thread seems to be a desire to be part of something bigger than oneself, according to interviews with young men who found religion, Denny said.
“The one word that I would use is ‘belonging,’ ” he explained. “That is, belonging to something larger, belonging to a tradition, belonging to a local community.
“And I think churches are still, in some ways, serving as a bastion, maybe even an island, that sort of works against that trend.”
The data can be seen as positive news for Christianity across the board.
According to the findings, Christians who attend church at least once a month make up 12% of the U.K.’s total population — up from 8% in 2018, before the pandemic.
And among people aged 18-24, the proportion grew to 16% from 4% in 2018, making them the second most likely to attend church regularly, just behind folks aged 65 and older.
The data also showed that 21% of young men reported being regular churchgoers compared with 12% of young women in the same 18-24 age group.
Father Carlos Velásquez, pastor of St. Brigid Parish in Bushwick, suggested that traditional Catholic worship is a growing draw worldwide. In January, he will become the director of liturgy for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“There is such a desire in the world for truth,” he said. “It’s a world where society is pushing us towards believing your own truth, right? But we know that is a lie. Jesus is very clear — ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the father except through me (John 14:6).’ ”
Jesus, Father Velásquez said, is found through the liturgy.
“I think young people, searching for truth, are (also) searching for beauty, and searching for mystery,” he said. “And when you come to the liturgy, you find that, because you find God’s word — the truth of the Gospel. And you find the truth and the beauty of the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”
Still, “Quiet Revival” is perhaps an apt title for the study, considering overall church attendance is still low. Denny noted, however, that while many Christians in the U.K. and the U.S. still avoid church on Sunday, the uptick in Gen Z church attendance could be a “sort of counter-cultural movement.” Whether this is a growing trend or just a “one-off” phenomenon remains to be seen, Denny said.
“Keep in mind that one of the things about young people, especially young men, is they tend to change,” Denny said. “We’ll see what these young men do in the Church.”
He suggested checking back on them in about 10 years, “when they become fathers and husbands.”
Denny asked, “Will they bring the light of Christ into the world in such a way that more people want to be part of this — this body of Christ?
“What I would say is, you will know them by their fruits.”