In one of his first interviews as Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff discussed with NBC News’ Lester Holt the impact that a first-ever American pope may have in the United States, where data already suggests there are several states where Catholicism is on the rise.
The number of practicing Catholics increased nationwide from 2010 to 2020, even as the number of churches shrank, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the U.S. Religion Census and U.S. Census Bureau (the two are not related). And the places where church attendance is growing shows a geographic realignment that is reshaping where and how American Catholicism thrives.
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