Slovenia: Bright spot amid Europe's declining Christian faith

Some observations on the state of the Catholic Church in Europe and Slovenia from Aleteia reporter John Burger.

Transcript

00:00 It's long been noted that the Christian faith in Europe has been on shaky ground.

00:10 In spite of the continent's Christian roots, the practice of the faith has decreased substantially

00:15 in recent decades.

00:17 Sparsely attended church services are a common sight.

00:20 I recently visited Slovenia in Central Europe and was pleased to find a different picture.

00:28 Although Slovenia, a country that is about 58% Catholic, has not escaped secular rising

00:34 trends, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon at least one bright spot.

00:42 Walking into the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation in the old section of Ljubljana,

00:47 the capital, on Wednesday evening, my wife and I could barely find a place to sit.

00:53 We arrived about 15 minutes before Mass and hundreds of young people were on their knees

00:59 praying the rosary before the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance.

01:04 At 7pm the Mass began and a large student choir led the congregation in a moving rendition

01:10 of the Kyrie.

01:11 Eva, a Mass student, told me later what this Mass is all about.

01:17 At Wednesdays there is an academic Mass where a lot of students come so there is very high

01:27 attendance because there are a lot of students here in Ljubljana.

01:31 Matijas told me the student Mass has been held for about 30 years.

01:35 I don't think that anybody can really explain it.

01:38 When you come here it's full church and I've been here every Wednesday for about six years

01:44 now and it's been like this ever since.

01:47 Nobody knows exactly what makes it so special but everybody enjoys it so this spirit of

01:52 joy kind of translates through generations.

01:56 As Advent approached, we were heartened to see that the faith is still very much alive

02:01 in Europe in spite of reports that it is in free fall.

02:05 In fact, Ljubljana will be the site of a major ecumenical youth gathering later this month,

02:11 hosted by Teze.

02:12 Now we are in Ljubljana because we are preparing a European youth meeting here in the country

02:18 and everyone from Europe and beyond who are between 18 and 29 years old are invited to

02:24 come here to pray together and see how local people live their faith.

02:30 And we will have a program of morning prayers and reflection groups and also some workshops

02:36 around the city.

02:38 Slovenia is one of the most beautiful places in Europe.

02:42 If the young people we met are any indication, the future looks very hopeful.

02:46 [music]

02:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]