I will never forget attending Mass at my grandmother’s Catholic church in Massachusetts for the Epiphany as a little girl. An obese, elderly priest flippantly skipped through sacred parts of the Mass. The entirety of his homily focused on the ‘most important’ part of the Epiphany – that the ‘wise men went home a different way’. (I still do not know what that means.)

Prior to the Consecration, he stared directly at my big family in our pew while instructing congregants not to kneel until after the Our Father. He was extremely displeased when my family knelt for Words of Institution; when we all received on the tongue, he was transparently disgusted. It came as no surprise to learn of his left-wing political leanings.

I thought of this incident – and several similar occurrences at liberal parishes throughout the country – when I saw the 2022 study on new Catholic priests that has been circulating on X/Twitter this week. According to the study, the number of new Catholic priests who identify as conservative increased by 68 per cent from 1968 to 2020.

Though this study is a few years old, anecdotal evidence indicates that these numbers have continued to rise in recent years. What’s more, the rates of Catholic conversions across America have similarly risen dramatically in recent years, reaching historic highs in many dioceses this past year alone.

Coincidence? I think not.

Even as children, my siblings and I thought that our grandmother’s priest was ridiculous. We struggled to avoid laughter at his homily, especially when he read a poem about the Christ-child’s ‘chicken noodle soup’. We were shocked at his obvious indifference to the Mass and Sacraments in general. I found out later that the same priest refused to say daily Mass and limited Confession times to one hour per week. Despite repeated calls to his bishop, to my knowledge, he was never publicly reprimanded.

As an adult, I do not find it funny any more. Throughout the course of my life, I have witnessed older left-wing priests like my grandmother’s seemingly make it their mission to water down pivotal truths of the faith. They instruct congregants not to kneel during the most sacred part of the Mass – such as when the Eucharist truly becomes the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. They show visible anger when congregants attempt to receive the Eucharist in the holiest form: on the tongue.

Congregants, especially little children who may lack proper catechesis, may have difficulty believing in the Real Presence when it is obvious their own pastor does not. Many Catholics’ only interaction with their faith comes from weekly Sunday Mass, yet instead of thought-provoking homilies or reflections on the mysteries of our faith, they are fed ‘feel-good’ word salad speeches.

There is no awe, no reverence and no truth. Aside from pointing the faithful to theological certainties and reflection, these types of priests are historically loath to comment on the grave sins of abortion, contraception, divorce and more. They are quick, instead, to rail about caring for migrants, climate change and even the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over the years I have heard and witnessed countless stories to this effect. I have had a priest deny me Communion for trying to receive on the tongue; I have heard of a priest calling the police on a sweet woman who put pro-life pamphlets on cars in the church car park. I have heard of homosexual left-wing priests pursuing young Catholic men and later being defrocked for sexual abuse, and more.

In many of these instances, the priests in question subscribed to left-wing agendas that are incompatible with the Catholic faith. Unsurprisingly, their congregations were reflective of their own apathy – un-catechised, improperly attired for Sunday Mass and unknowing violators of important Church teachings.

Not only that – but they are empty. A family member once noted that we have more people standing in line for confession at my hometown church than my grandmother’s parish has attending Mass. Germany serves as additional evidence that ‘by their fruits shall ye know them’. While German priests and bishops promote same-sex marriage and demand that the Catholic Church institute female priests, the church in Germany is dying a slow death.

Thankfully, the data indicates that the tide is turning. Just two years ago, I was visiting my grandmother and braced myself for yet another Mass with the now-infamous Father-Go-Home-A-Different-Way. I mentally prepared to tune him out; in fact, I brought my own In Conversation with God to read during the homily so I might get something out of it.

I was pleasantly surprised when a younger priest began saying Mass in a reverent manner. His homily focused on all the evidence for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. After Mass, instead of rushing home grumpily like Father-Go-Home-A-Different-Way, he waited outside and joyfully conversed with my grandmother and her friends.

I learned later that this priest had been recently ordained. He was on fire for the faith – exuding joy and committed to promoting Catholic truth rather than politics. You could see the visible change in the congregation.

My childhood parish in Virginia serves as a control group for this anecdotal study. The never-ending stream of new, conservative and holy Catholic priests at our parish in the past two decades remains one of the greatest benefits of growing up in my hometown. Our priest’s commitment to truly shepherding their flock with the truth has made our parish one of the most vibrant, zealous parishes in all of Virginia. Weekday and Sunday Masses are extremely well attended – especially by large families.

These people are on fire for their faith in large part because they have benefited from young Catholic priests who truly care about the Sacraments, about promoting the truth and making their congregants saints. They benefit from priests who are not afraid to stand up for the truth when necessary – who are not afraid to defend the dignity of life from the pulpit, to condemn attacks on religious freedom, marriage and the family. As a child, I did not fully appreciate this. I was shocked and found it hilarious to witness a priest who was not like the ones back home.

Today, reading the encouraging data on the skyrocketing rates of conservative Catholic priests and the seeming correlation between the high rates of Catholic conversions, I am increasingly appreciative of the young, conservative Catholic men who are courageously joining the priesthood to fight the spiritual battles that the generations before them were too cowardly to even acknowledge.