The Archdiocese of Paris is launching a major churchwide council in response to a surge in adult and youth conversions across France.

The initiative begins Jan. 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, with a four-month consultation involving all parishes and nine bishops. Church leaders say the timing reflects the unprecedented growth in catechumens, especially among young people.

In 2025 alone, more than 17,800 catechumens were baptized across France during the Easter Vigil, including over 10,000 adults. In Paris, adult baptisms reached 2,652. The trend has been building for five years but rose sharply again at the start of this year.

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Father Maximilien de La Martinière, a priest of the Diocese of Versailles, was appointed secretary general and is responsible for overseeing the organization of the council. He works with teams established locally in each diocese.

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The date for start of the council was chosen, the priest explained, because St. Paul "was an adult who, after his conversion, became a catechumen and then a zealous neophyte."

The council will use a synodal-style process to study how parishes can better welcome, form and retain new Catholics. An assembly will meet in May, with final recommendations expected to be implemented in late 2027.