In most Spanish -speaking countries to be a Catholic – at least those known as “cultural” Catholics – is almost the norm. Thus, it is uncommon to find someone who has not been, at least, baptized.
But, with the growing secularization in the world, that is changing.
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Once upon a time that Spain was the one that brought the Catholic faith to American lands. That was more than 500 years ago. But the June 1979 in which 90.3% of Spaniards declared Catholic, according to the Barometer of the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). Exactly 46 years later, the CIS report June of this 2025 It reports that 56.1% is considered Catholic.
It is a global trend, certainly. For example, Mexico, the country with more Spanish -speaking Catholics in the world, had 92.6% of Catholics in 1980. By 2020, according to the most recent census of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), the percentage was reduced to 77.7%.
Now, it has its differences to train a person in faith since childhood, with a Catholic family and social environment, to catechize someone who approaches the church with more questions than certainties.
The Catholic Church in Spain rehearses an answer
Fr. Jesús Úbeda Moreno, is not only the Episcopal Vicar of Evangelization of the Diocese of Getafe – sofneous of the Archdiocese of Madrid – but is also director of the director of the First announcement area of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (EEC). And from there he rehearses a catechesis response that is spreading through the country.
Interviewed by ACI Press, Fr. Úbeda Moreno explains that in the Diocese of Getafe they have a two -year program “for people who know nothing about the Catholic Church.” To this, it stands out, you can also add “even baptized who know something, but they want to deepen their faith or have a more living, more familiar faith experience,” and is called “Program for Missionary Disciples.”
This itinerary, he says, “has several modules”, starting from the fact that the “first announcement” that these people who want to approach the faith are frequently produced through programs such as the programs such as programs such as programs such as Alpha Course and the Emaus retreats.
These types of experiences have a “strong impact” on people, says the Spanish priest, indicating that “discipular processes” begin below. “
“The ‘neoconversos’ are very thirsty to know the word”
The first, he says, is “a course that we call ‘Basic course of Christianity’, which lasts 12 weeks, where the foundations of faith are given”, and that contains “very essential things to introduce already in the world of faith and above all that begin to understand the draft and the depth of what has happened to them in the first announcement encounter.”
This is followed by an “eight -week introduction course to the Bible as well, because we see that the ‘neoconvers’ are very thirsty for knowing the word”, so from the Church they provide them with “tools to understand the word”.
With these courses, virtually a first year of formation in the faith passes, says Fr. Úbeda Moreno. During the second year, “also weekly meetings, with a similar scheme” are held.
In this process, they deepen the creed, and understand that the Catholic is “a faith that is believed, a faith that is prayed, a faith that is lived and a faith that is celebrated.”
They also have a “proper encounter of prayer, with a very strong dynamic” and a week dedicated to living together.
Among various moments of celebration and “rites of passage”, they have a key moment in the Pascual vigil, liturgy in which those who are received in the Catholic Church receive the sacraments of Christian initiation: baptism, the Eucharist and confirmation.
At the end of that process, he points out, “a weekend retirement is carried out where they take the final step to be missionary disciples.”
But this does not end there. “Small communities are formed, also with a training itinerary and prayer properly created,” he explains.
Evangelization through movements and a new challenge
Fr. Jesús Úbeda Moreno indicates that after the Second Vatican Council, in most cases, “the conversion and discipular processes have been mainly given in movements” and new realities in the Church, such as the neocatechumenal road, the focus, communion and liberation and charismatic renewal.
It is, he points out, “realities that began to have their own scope of faith, but also accompanying their itineraries, with their proposals”, in such a way that “in Spain, fundamentally, the adult Christians who are now generated in areas of ecclesial movements and realities. That is a thing that must be recognized absolutely.”
“Until more or less 15, 20 years ago, all this has been done by movements,” he insists, pointing out that in recent years “new forms of first announcement, advertisement of explicit faith, are being born, which are generating conversion experiences, but that are not linked to any movement.”
In many of these cases, the newly converts ended their incorporation into the Church and were sent to their parishes, where priests often did not have “an adequate proposal to continue the formation process, accompanied”, because the parishes did not have “the ability to welcome and accompany those first announcement processes.”
In those cases, he regrets, “people did not persevere. It was like a kind of disconnection of the experience they were doing to the experience that we later offered to follow up.”
“Change the proposal”
The Spanish priest indicates that what they have done, from the Diocese of Getafe, “is to change the proposal we made after the first announcement with a more adequate, more corresponding to the announcement experience they had had. And this is now working very well.”
“They have a monthly encounter of a little personal spiritual accompaniment. We offer those who are baptized a monthly confession. We offer them retreats in Lent, Advent retreats,” he continues.
“We also offer them a charitable activity that begins to educate them in gratuity and we also have a bit adapted spiritual exercises, that is, to the disciple formation that is offered.”
Of Getafe for entire Spain
While the program began in Getafe, it is already extended by other Spanish dioceses. And the Spanish priest, from his function in the EEC, is in charge of “offering it, to make it known.” This is the case, says Fr. Úbeda Moreno, of the Diocese of Jaén and Orihuela-Aliante.
And recently he went to Vitoria, to “take a course with the two -day priests to teach them to do these things.”
“In Vitoria, here, now, for example, they are very strong and they will start in September with the process and are very excited,” he says.
David Ramos
Graduate in Communication Sciences by the Private University of the North in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working in ACI Press, I am based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered the trips of Pope Francis to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.