(OSV News) ─ Universities across the country are experiencing a surge in students seeking the sacrament of confirmation this academic year. While these students -- many of whom were confirmed this Easter Vigil ─ describe unique journeys of faith, all of them exhibited a newfound joy.
"I just could not wipe the smile off of my face," 20-year-old Brooklyn Garon, a junior studying at University of Dayton in Ohio, said of her baptism, first Communion and confirmation this Easter. "The vigil was just filled with so much joy and I just felt like I received so much grace."
Garon was one of several students who spoke with OSV News about receiving confirmation ─ which, along with the Eucharist, completes the rest of the sacraments of initiation following baptism ─ during the 2025-2026 academic year. Some of these students attend Catholic schools; others study at public higher education institutions.
They shared their stories and what comes next for them in their faith journeys. Many of them sought confirmation after encountering Catholics in their own lives. Others arrived at the sacrament while looking for meaning and purpose in life.
"I decided to pursue confirmation, because I realized I did not feel fulfilled and I wanted to seek something greater," Casey Rigel, a 21-year-old senior nursing student at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, said.
All seven universities or Catholic campus ministries that spoke with OSV News confirmed a dramatic rise in students receiving confirmation this year.
This year's college and university students receiving the sacrament of confirmation include baptized Catholics who never received that sacrament as a child; validly baptized Christians coming into full communion with the Catholic Church and so receive confirmation and the Eucharist; and people who had not been baptized previously and so received all their sacraments of initiation ─ baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist ─ together when they enter the Church.
Catholic universities, such as University of Dayton in Ohio, noticed a trend. The Marianist institution expects 26 confirmations this academic year, which represents a 333% increase from six confirmations in 2024-2025. At the same time, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana is counting the largest group of confirmations in its recorded history: 134 students.
"What I hear most consistently is a desire for something more in their life ─ that there is something that they feel like is missing," said Brett Perkins, assistant director for evangelization and religious education in Notre Dame's Office of Campus Ministry. "What leads them to start the process is they're exploring: 'Is God that which is missing in my life?'"
Another Catholic university, St. Mary's University in San Antonio, saw nine confirmations this academic year (including the confirmation of a law student), a rise from six confirmations last year. Loyola University Chicago in Illinois listed 27 confirmations this year, a jump from 16 confirmations last year.
"From what I've seen, it is the communal nature of Catholic spirituality, ecclesiology and worship which attracts young people who feel as if they are lacking roots and meaningful connection in a world which is becoming increasingly lonely and divided," said Derrick Witherington, assistant director of campus ministry for sacramental life at Loyola.
Jason King, Beirne Chair of Catholic Studies and director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary's University, added that God's love for people and God's call to love others resonates especially with students who are looking for meaning in life while also experiencing a sense of loneliness.
Like Catholic universities, public universities also witnessed an increase. St. John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois Chicago counted 14 confirmations this academic year after five confirmations last year. ASU Catholic Newman Center, which serves Arizona State University, saw 100 confirmations this year after 25 last year. Buckeye Catholic, a campus ministry housed at the St. Thomas More Newman Center that serves the Ohio State University and other local schools, such as Otterbein University, listed 71 confirmations this year after 47 last year.
These confirmation numbers include Catholic students receiving confirmation as well as catechumens (those who are not validly baptized) and candidates (those who are validly baptized) entering the Catholic Church. Some of the numbers provided also include recent graduates.
While university representatives and campus ministry leaders pointed to several possible factors for this explosion in faith, they most frequently cited a search for meaning and a longing for community.
Marianist Father Bob Jones, university chaplain at University of Dayton, added that he sees students realize something is missing in their lives when they befriend other students living out their Catholic faith.
Many students who spoke with OSV News confirmed that the Catholics in their lives impacted their faith. At Arizona State University, 20-year-old Andrew Phillips received confirmation and his first Communion at the Easter Vigil after debating faith with a Catholic ─ his best friend through high school.
Phillips, who was raised Protestant and taught to believe Catholics go to hell, now embraces the Catholic faith. The sophomore, who is studying at the ASU's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership and minoring in Catholic Studies through Mary College at ASU, remembered getting confirmed and experiencing "this moment of profound encounter with the Lord."
Like other students who received sacraments, Phillips is already involved in his Catholic community. He lives in a household with St. Paul's Outreach, a Catholic ministry group, and attends daily holy hours and daily Mass. Next year, he will serve as his Newman Center's outreach intern. He called the Catholic faith "my life 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
A recent graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago, Ali Muheisen received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and first Communion at the Easter Vigil after encountering Catholicism through his girlfriend. The 22-year-old said that, after he was baptized, he wept and his "whole spirit exploded in happiness and joy."
Muheisen, who was raised Muslim, began attending Mass with his girlfriend to impress her parents. It sparked his interest. Later on, Muheisen, who is ethnically Palestinian, remembered breaking down while looking at photos of churches he had previously visited in the Holy Land.
"I just started crying," Muheisen said. "I had a Bible already, so I started reading the Bible. And I started crying even more."
When he prayed for a sign about whether to convert, he had a dream about getting baptized. Like Phillips, he lives out his faith by attending events at his Newman Center and is discerning missionary work.
Other students like Joseph Ellis-Vela, a senior at University of Dayton, said their school played a role in their faith. The 22-year-old, a criminal justice major and international studies minor, was confirmed in November. Raised Catholic, he delayed confirmation because of his busy schedule as an athlete. His family and the university's requirement to take a religion class played a role in his path to confirmation.
"My family has always been involved with the Catholic religion," Ellis-Vela said. "Not only does it mean a lot to be confirmed and a part of the Catholic faith, but also it means a lot to be even closer with my family."
In living out his faith, he said he tries to read the Bible every day. He also wants to mentor students preparing for confirmation, just as others mentored him.
The University of Dayton also impacted Garon, who is majoring in education and minoring in Spanish. Garon, who comes from a Protestant background, initially chose the university because it was Christian and because of its program for her major. In her sophomore year, she became involved in campus ministry and the Office for Mission and Rector, which is dedicated to formation in service of the Church and society. She attended retreats and ministry events. She lived in faith housing, and her friends were Catholic. Through these experiences, she learned "what it means to be Catholic."
Today, Garon serves as a social media peer minister for Catholic LIFE, a Catholic student organization, and chairs a group called Agape Latte that invites faculty to talk about their faith. Next year, in preparation for becoming a teacher, Garon said she will also serve as a student teacher in a Catholic school.
"I didn't know what I didn't know before," she said. "But once I found out, I knew that that was the truest thing that I had ever experienced -- and I knew that I couldn't go on with my faith journey without participating in that."
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Katie Yoder is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Maryland.
