Pope Francis had a huge impact on the world during his papacy, but the effect continues after his death. One result may be swelling the ranks of the Church he led.
On April 21, 2025, one day after Easter Sunday, Pope Francis passed away, ending an era of Catholic history that began on March 13, 2013. The papacy of Argentinean-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio was perhaps one of the most (if not the most) Googled pontificates ever.
So, it's fitting that, in the wake of the pope's passing, many people turned to the Internet with one burning question.
So, What Did People Search the Internet for When Pope Francis Died?
In the moments and days after the pope's death, a rather remarkable thing happened -- a whole lot of people started asking about becoming Catholic.
From Zenit, the Vatican news service:
In a digital world where curiosity is often measured in clicks and search bars, something extraordinary unfolded in the days surrounding Easter this year.
Global online searches for “how to become Catholic” surged by a staggering 373% between April 20 and April 26, marking what observers call a spiritual phenomenon sparked by the final public moments—and sudden death—of Pope Francis.
This upsurge in interest followed a general rise in people actually joining the Catholic Church at Easter 2025, the culmination of a process that, for most, had been ongoing for many months.
And with the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, on May 8, 2025, curiosity is unlikely to wane anytime soon.
From The National Catholic Register:
His appointment reflects a Church that is not shrinking but expanding — a Church alive in every corner of the world, including right here in the U.S. Signs of renewal are everywhere. Dioceses across the country and many places around the world are reporting dramatic increases in conversions and people flocking to the Catholic Church.
So, how does one become Catholic? Fear not, Family Theater Productions' (a k a FTP) long-running, theologically accurate, but lighthearted YouTube series Catholic Central has launched a new spinoff-series all about that, called How to Become Catholic.
How to Become Catholic
The producer of the five-episode series, which premiered on Tuesday, Sept. 16, is Gen Z digital-content creator Alan Hewitt, who most recently did the series Creating Sacred Beauty for FTP YouTube.
Recalls cradle-Catholic Hewitt, who interned at FTP while still a student at John Paul the Great Catholic
University:
I was sitting at my desk, working on one project for my job as a digital-content creator. My boss walks in and says, "Hey, is it possible you could pause your work a little bit on that one series you're doing and shift perspective to another one?"
And so we ended up hatching this series on how to become Catholic, and what that process looks like, in answer to the uptick in search inquiries from people earlier this year in the spring.
The series is intended to answer the most basic questions people have when they're thinking about possibly joining the Church.
These include inquiries from folks who have never been baptized, but also those who were baptized Catholic but fell away from the practice of the Faith, and those who were baptized into another Christian community and are considering entering the Catholic Church.
The hosts for How to Become Catholic are Katia Villanueva (Creating Sacred Beauty) and Roberto Arrizón (Catholic Central's Spanish-language sibling, Lente Católico). The series will be posted at the YouTube channel for Catholic Central, on its own playlist.
The episodes are:
Where Do I Start?
If You Are Unbaptized
Already Baptized
If You Are an Older Child
Frequently Asked Questions
Hewitt is also the writer on the series, which speaks to experts from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and also to people who've gone through the process of becoming Catholic.
Here's the trailer:
So, What Is This Process?
It's called OCIA, short for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). Based in local parishes, it's a program of education and religious formation, often beginning in the fall and continuing to Easter Sunday and beyond.
Usually accompanying each person is a volunteer sponsor, a practicing Catholic who's there for companionship and support. Sometimes sponsors also can become godparents, if the person they're sponsoring has never been baptized.
Some people can take private instruction or go through other methods, but OCIA is the most common way adults enter the Church. While following general Church guidelines, OCIA can also vary in course design, etc., from parish to parish.
The series is not intended to be a substitute for OCIA but a quick guide for those doing that Google search and seeking clear, actionable information.
Even a Lifelong Catholic Can Be Surprised
Since he's always been Catholic, Hewitt has never been through the OCIA process nor been a sponsor:
There's so many different rites, and there's so many different beautiful prayers and ceremonies throughout the Order, that you just realize that the Church really creates a rich process that's looking out for a very holistic approach for every person going through the process.
Of course it's going to look a little different from parish to parish. That was another thing too, is that you encounter this at a general level, and as producers on the show, we are also encountering it from a more general top-down level with the intent of making it clear that every parish, every community, adapts this a little bit, because every person's situation is different.
Asked if he's actually now interested in being a sponsor, Hewitt says:
Being a sponsor would be a really rewarding experience, to be able to walk with somebody in that faith journey ,and also to feel I guess the privilege to accompany them through that process.
From what I've heard, people have had really great relationships with their sponsors, and just that friendship that they form is really rewarding. I don't know if that'll ever happen to me, but I could see that being a really rewarding experience, for sure.
The Church Is the Destination, but People Come on Many Paths
The episodes feature folks coming to Catholicism from different starting points, including possibly the furthest one away.
Says Hewitt:
Another couple I met randomly through some people from a young-adult group, they just came into the Church this year, and they were atheists. And so, I was like, "That would be fun to hear your story."
There's also a person who was baptized into the Greek Orthodox faith but is now Catholic. Incidentally, that's the same path taken by Jonathan Roumie, who stars as Jesus in the hit Gospels-based series The Chosen.
But, while Roumie is a member of the main branch of the Catholic Church -- called the Latin Rite -- the person in our show chose to enter as an Eastern Rite Catholic.
That's a collection of ancient churches in full communion with the See of Rome but having liturgy and practices that more closely resemble Orthodox worship.
BTW, Catholic Central did an episode on that:
The Journey to the Church Can Be Rewarding But Also Difficult
Choosing one thing always means either not choosing, or leaving behind, other things. For those becoming Catholic as adults, or returning to the Church, they may risking the loss of friends, family, social circles, or familiar habits and places.
Says Hewitt:
They'd be honest. It's hard. It's hard to leave behind something you hold in common with other people for something that you believe is a greater good for your soul, for yourself, your well-being, your life.
So, for me, I realize how blessed I am to have kind of the background that I do, the family that I do, the upbringing that I do, but there's also something really heroic to see in other people that didn't have that and are still making the choice, especially today, where it's pretty counter cultural to be Catholic.
Take a look at the first episode of How to Become Catholic:
Don't forget to like, comment and, subscribe -- and share the series' playlist with anyone you know who might be interested.
New episodes post weekly, on Tuesdays, on Catholic Central's YouTube channel.
Image: Family Theater Productions
Based on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, Family Theater Productions makes Emmy, Gabriel, and Christopher Award-winning stories that unlock hearts to the possibilities of love, family, and faith. Founded by Venerable Patrick Peyton in 1947.
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