More Catholics are attending weekend Mass, according to the 2024 annual Mass count report. But the average for weekend attendance still remains below pre-pandemic levels.
In the October 2024 count, out of an estimated 433,000 registered Catholics in the diocese, approximately 28.8 percent attended weekend Mass, 1.5 percent higher than the October 2023 count.
With nearly three out of 10 registered Catholics attending Mass weekly, the diocese is slightly ahead of recent national rates of attendance. A Gallup survey last year indicated 23 percent of Catholics attend Mass weekly, while Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate put the figure at 17 percent in 2023.
“What we’re seeing in the curve is that we’re getting back gradually to pre-COVID numbers,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge said in an interview. Considering the pandemic’s devastating impact, “it’s not really unexpected that the return was going to be gradual.”
“We are seeing a vibrancy and a growth in our diocese and I’m very pleased to see that,” he said. “I see that not just in the October count, but whenever I visit our parishes. Those who are there are fully engaged and are very deeply committed.
“At the same time, we are humbly acknowledging that 70 percent of Catholics in our diocese are not actively engaged on a consistent basis,” Bishop Burbidge said. “It doesn’t mean they don’t go to church once in a while, or that they’re not trying to live their vocation or do great things. But the reality is we have to, in the words of Pope Francis, become missionary disciples. We have to go out and welcome and invite and evangelize.”
The annual Mass count occurs each October, when parishes, missions and campus ministries tally the number of individuals attending weekend Masses, with the exception of the Columbus Day holiday weekend when some travel. They then send their data to the diocese to be compiled in the annual report. There was no Mass count in 2020.
While average Mass attendance increased by 27 percent from 2021 to 2024, it still has not reached pre-pandemic levels. Average weekend attendance at Masses in most languages remains below 2019 levels, with the exception of Spanish. Four Spanish-language Masses were added at parishes between 2019 and 2024, and overall weekend attendance totals increased.
For the average weekend in October, parishes reported a total of 125,164 individuals attended 402 regularly scheduled Masses, an increase by 6 percent — or 6,934 individuals — from the October 2023 average of 118,230.
Bishop Burbidge said that evangelization is a central focus of the diocesan strategic plan.
“So many of the initiatives are about this, about evangelizing,” he said. “It all goes back to doing what Jesus did. He sent his disciples out in twos, to go out and invite others to him. Parishes that are seeing positive results are forming such disciples.
“It’s the highest priority as we implement our strategic plan — getting more actively engaged individuals,” he added.
Father Thomas P. Ferguson, pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, said that over the past year, both Mass attendance and parish registrations have increased. He attributes the rise to the addition of religious education programs for youths immediately before Sunday Masses and a Liturgy of the Word program for preschoolers in the parish’s adjacent chapel during two weekend Masses.
“The catechists will take the preschoolers and go to the chapel, and they’ll have their own age-appropriate Liturgy of the Word with the little kids,” he said. “It’s sharing the Word of God with little kids in an age-appropriate way.”
Father Ferguson said the addition of the new programs was made possible by the completion of the parish’s new chapel last year. “We’re just trying to use our facilities and our time to really make it possible for families to come to church for things like religious education, faith formation and Mass on Sundays, where we’re trying to really assist the younger families with their kids,” he said.
Father Richard E. Dyer, pastor of St. Thomas à Becket Church in Reston, said he saw 15 percent more people in the pews over the past year. He said that the parish community has grown dramatically over the last few years. He attributes much of the parish growth to increased access to the sacraments, particularly confessions, which are offered daily.
Over the past year, Father Dyer has seen an increase of younger Catholics attending Mass. “We have a lot of young families,” he said. “Reston’s demographics are changing; it’s getting a lot younger. We have a vibrant young adult ministry now.”
But, “there’s a lot more that needs to be done,” he said. He hopes to continue drawing more young people to the parish and plans to start a youth ministry.
But more than anything, Father Dyer said he hopes to “continue to nurture and give people the opportunity to encounter Christ in the sacraments, trying to bring them together so they can encounter the Lord in the beautiful sacramental life of the church, but also in community and the family that I like to call a ‘family of faith.’ ”
