Latinos are leaving the U.S. Catholic Church in droves. Pope Leo could bring them back.

by J.D. Long García May 12, 2026

People attend Palm Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church (Sagrada Familia) in Wilmington, Calif., March 29, 2026. Credit: OSV News photo/Juanito Holandez Jr.

Young Latinos are leaving the church. That’s not a problem to be put off. 

According to Pew Research, young Latinos are more likely to be unaffiliated with a religion than they are to be Catholic. Among U.S.-born Latinos ages 18 to 29, 49 percent do not affiliate with a religion. Across all generations, only 36 percent of U.S.-born Latinos identify as Catholic. 

Juan Miguel Alvarez, the director of New Horizons at the University of Notre Dame, noted the trend of disaffiliation in his recent feature for America and recommended some practical solutions. The X-factor, I would argue, is the American who walked out onto the Loggia of Blessings dressed in white just over a year ago. 

When Pope Leo XIV introduced himself to the world in prepared remarks on May 8, 2025, he spoke almost exclusively in Italian. He did pray in Latin and, to the delight of Latin Americans everywhere, he also briefly spoke in Spanish when greeting his “dear Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru.

Leaning into Catholic Identity

Rather than count the hours of adoration on campus, Catholic colleges should tout more holistic outcomes.

Heidi Schlumpf

May 13, 2026

Higher Education

Religion

Culture

Please email comments to letters@commonwealmagazine.org.

People walk on the campus of Georgetown University in Washington (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters).

As graduates walked across the stage to receive their degrees at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, over Mother’s Day weekend, the ceremony was more poignant than usual. Lourdes is one of at least three Catholic colleges closing this year, part of a wider trend expected to claim hundreds of institutions over the next decade. 

The closures are the result of declining enrollment, much of it caused by the “demographic cliff” of prospective college-age students, mounting financial challenges from decreased tuition revenue, and loss of federal grants and funding. Also closing this year are Ana Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, and Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. All three institutions were founded by orders of religious women and prioritized serving poor and marginalized populations—unfortunately not a ticket to financial success. 

Vatican warns of excommunication for traditionalist group on brink of schism

 

Vatican warns of excommunication for traditionalist group on brink of schism

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  Justin McLellan

AN ANCHOR-HOLD OF LOVE

 

 

 

Julian of Norwich: A Universal Mystic

An Anchor-Hold of Love 

Monday, May 11, 2026

READ ON CAC.ORG

 

 

Father Richard recounts the circumstances of Julian’s mystical experience:  

Ever since I discovered Julian of Norwich so many decades ago, I have considered her one of my favorite mystics. Each time I return to her writings, I always find something new. Julian experienced her sixteen visions, or “showings” as she called them, all on one May night in 1373 when she was very sick and near death. As a priest held a crucifix in front of her, Julian saw Jesus suffering on the cross and heard him speaking to her for several hours. Like all mystics, she realized that what Jesus was saying about himself, he was simultaneously saying about all of reality. That is what unitive consciousness allows us to see.

On same-sex blessings in Germany, cardinal calls talk of Vatican sanctions ‘premature’

On same-sex blessings in Germany, cardinal calls talk of Vatican sanctions ‘premature’

by Junno Arocho Esteves - OSV News May 11, 2026

Father Christian Olding blesses a same-sex couple during a blessing service called "Love Wins" in the Church of St. Martin in Geldern, Germany, May 6, 2021. Credit: OSV News photo/Rudolf Wichert, KNA

(OSV News) — Dialogue between the Vatican and German bishops regarding the blessing of same-sex unions is ongoing, and it was too soon to talk about sanctions, said the Vatican secretary of state.

Speaking to journalists in Rome May 6, Cardinal Pietro Parolin was asked if the Vatican intends to impose sanctions on the German bishops after the continued promotion of a handbook for blessing same-sex couples.

Podcast: 'Trust that there is more at work in the world,' says Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

 

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  John Dear

Podcast: 'Trust that there is more at work in the world,' says Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde

Guest Voices

On immigration, Americans must examine their conscience: Catholic tradition can help

 

Guest Voices

Opinion

On immigration, Americans must examine their conscience: Catholic tradition can help

Oscar Cantú, David E. DeCosse, William O'Neill  ncr

Vatican II and Pope Leo’s ‘kingly’ role

“After a fat pope, a thin pope”—or so the Italians say. 

The saying doesn’t refer to the B.M.I. of the successive occupants of the see of Peter—it is a metaphor for their general outlook and style. Some Catholic commentary has tacitly drawn on its underlying sentiment to suggest that Pope Leo XIV will take a strikingly different attitude toward the Second Vatican Council than his predecessor, Pope Francis. Rather than prioritize aggiornamento, he will cultivate ressourcement. Rather than embracing the novus ordo, he will look kindly on the traditional Latin Mass. Rather than encouraging young Catholics to “make a mess” as Pope Francis did, he will promote law and order.