Korey Francis can connect the dots on important moments in his faith.<\/p>\n
And he wanted more.<\/p>\n
“I started going to Mass more with my grandmother, and that really sparked the idea for me to get baptized,” he said<\/p>\n
Francis, along with the Schaffer sisters, Abigail and twins Caralyn and Jillian, were all baptized into the Catholic Church at Easter.<\/p>\n
A dozen students from Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast High School in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, became full members of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
“It was such a long-waited experience,” Abigail Schaffer said. “And it was like, I’m so excited for this, but then the time finally came, I was like, oh my gosh, this is really happening, I’m actually joining the faith.”<\/p>\n
“For my sisters, we were all in the school together, and it was a communal decision for the three of us, that we wanted to do it together at the same time,” Caralyn Schaffer said.<\/p>\n
Sean Smith, the school’s campus minister, said the students attended some 20 classes in a rigorous preparation process.<\/p>\n
“To see that all culminate to them receiving the sacraments and earning what they really worked for is really beautiful,” Smith added.<\/p>\n
The number of people becoming full members of the Roman Catholic Church surged this year.<\/p>\n
Figures provided to CBS News Philadelphia from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia show a 60% spike this year compared to last year.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia isn’t alone.<\/p>\n
And some church scholars are calling it something of a revival.<\/p>\n
“Even in the world, the conversion numbers are up,” Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Rev. Dennis Gill, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, said research points to children of people no longer practicing their Catholic faith as a large component of new membership, among other things.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“People are looking for the truth, they have a sense that God is important, they want to have an active relationship with God,” Gill said,<\/p>\n
“What is the culture offering?” Gill added. “The confusion in the world on so many things. I think you have to have a huge picture here to answer the question why this is happening.”<\/p>\n
For Francis, the experience of becoming a baptized Catholic was emotional.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“You feel like finally you’re part of the family,” he said. “Now, I can share my experiences to bring more people into the church.<\/p>\n