In John Allen’s book The Future Church, he makes two points regarding Catholicism’s changing demographics:
- The Church is going global like never before. In 1900, 75% of Catholics lived in North America or Europe. By 2000, more than 65% of the 1.1 billion Catholics lived in South America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. According to current trends, by the year 2025 more than 75% of Catholics will live in the southern hemisphere.
- The global Church is young. More than half of the Catholics in sub-Saharan Africa are under 14 years old. In most other parts of the global south, a youthful current is swelling.
The Church’s popular World Youth Day stands as an icon to both of these trends. The celebration is one of the most powerful, encouraging, electric movements within the Catholic Church. Seeing millions of young people gathered to worship Christ and honor his Church is nothing short of breathtaking.
This year’s celebration, held in late August, will take place in Madrid, Spain. And I can’t imagine a more invigorating trailer than this: