According to recent statistics, Africa added more than 8 million Catholics in 2019, the largest area of growth in the world.
In comparison, America added 5.3 million, Asia added 1.9 million and Oceania 118,000. Europe, on the other hand, saw a decrease of almost 300,000 Catholics.
Kinga von Poschinger, who works at the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need, said there are many reasons for the growth of the Church in Africa. “The fact that this growth in faith in Africa has only increased in recent decades can be explained on the one hand by the fact that the Christian faith is only now arriving in many regions – there are still many areas where traditional African religions are practiced – and on the other hand by the fact that evangelization today is no longer aimed at mass baptisms and thus mass conversions, but at a real and true encounter with God that comes from the innermost part of the human being. And it is precisely this true encounter with God that makes people shine and be a light for the world,” she told Crux. “On the African continent, this high level of technology does not exist. More than technology, people there rely on nature and on people in their daily lives. It is primarily nature, that provides them with food – not the supermarket, and it is the human being who takes care of them when they are old, sick or suffering – not a machine. Like everywhere else in the world, people in Africa naturally ask for a “sign of God”, in their lives, for answers to their questions – especially in the face of so much hunger and suffering. But at the same time, they are much more open to seeing such signs in their daily lives. In other words, they engage in spiritual experiences, and see in them a proof of God’s existence. The more people have such genuine spiritual experiences, and the more deeply they are convinced of the existence of God, the more their attitude to life changes. This then not only has an influence on their private lives, but also convinces other people of the existence of God – usually without a lot of words.”