The Face of Catholicism in the United States Has Changed. Here’s How.

Read live updates on the death of Pope Francis and the reaction.

A lively Mass with mariachi music in San Antonio. A monthly potluck for Filipino Catholics in New York City. Parishes in Las Vegas so crowded that some attendees must stand.

These are some of the faces of the Catholic Church in the United States this Easter weekend — a moment marked by both celebration and mourning after the death of Pope Francis on Monday.

For decades, the share of American Catholics declined in the face of broader trends in secularization. But those numbers have stabilized in recent years, according to the latest survey data from the Pew Research Center, buoyed by growing immigrant communities across the West and the South and by broader societal changes that are transforming Catholic identity.

Most Asian Catholics are immigrants.

Queens

About 78 percent of Asian Catholics in the United States were born outside the country, and another 14 percent are the children of immigrants — the highest proportion of any ethnic group for which Pew has sufficient data. While Asian Catholics now make up only about 4 percent of the U.S. Catholic population, that number has ticked up since the 2000s.

At St. Mary Gate of Heaven, a parish in Queens in New York City, Filipino parishioners pack in on the first Sunday of each month for a Mass offered in Tagalog. (Most Filipino Americans are Catholic, according to Pew.) The service is followed by a potluck in the church basement where people bring Filipino dishes such as lumpia, adobo and cassava cake.

The parish began offering the Mass over a decade ago when a Filipino priest joined and championed its creation, according to Fe Tesoro, who coordinates the Mass. She said the service draws both recent immigrants and older generations of the Filipino community.

Alfredo Altura, 65, has been attending this Mass for nearly 10 years. He said it offers him something different from the Masses he attends other Sundays — a chance to reconnect with his roots.

“I’ve been away for so long,” said Mr. Altura, who immigrated from the Philippines more than two decades ago. “To hear it in your own language, it makes you feel like you’re back home.”

Younger priests are more conservative.

Emmitsburg, Md.

Younger Catholic priests in the United States now tend to be more conservative, surveys have shown — theologically, liturgically and politically. It is a change that marks a sharp shift from half a century ago, when newly ordained priests were more likely to describe themselves as politically liberal and theologically progressive.

This growing conservatism may further widen a divide between a conservative American faction in the church and the vision Pope Francis championed — one that sought to make the church more inclusive and sometimes challenged conservative Catholics.

Msgr. Andrew Baker, rector of the seminary at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, said what is often perceived as conservatism among younger priests was instead, he felt, simply fidelity to Catholic teaching in a rapidly changing culture.

But he acknowledged that the roughly 150 men in the seminary may reflect a shift in who is drawn to the priesthood. They are entering the vocation at a time when the world feels increasingly “topsy-turvy,” he said, which may attract men who seek clarity and security in the church’s teachings.

This shift could create tension between future priests and some members of their parishes. Monsignor Baker said that navigating these differences would require openness and growth.

“Even if you don’t agree with someone or have different preferences, that does not mean you cannot serve them — whoever comes — just as Christ did,” he said.

The Hispanic share of Catholics is growing.

San Antonio

As the Hispanic population grows in the United States, the share of Catholics who are Hispanic is rising as well — from 29 percent in 2007 to 36 percent in the most recent survey. This number has grown even as Catholicism is on the decline among Hispanic adults.

That shift has contributed to an increased demand for religious services held in Spanish and has driven inclusion of other forms of cultural expression. In San Antonio, Mission San Jose offers a mariachi Mass in Spanish on Sundays — a tradition that the family behind the mariachi band and choir has sustained for over 50 years. Musicians wearing the traditional mariachi traje and playing instruments perform alongside a choir of about 45 people throughout the Mass.

They began offering this service after reforms in the 1960s allowed for greater use of vernacular language and music in the liturgy. While most common in the Southwest, mariachi Masses have since spread across the country, according to Estevan Azcona, an ethnomusicologist at the University of Arizona.

“The mariachi Mass is probably as popular now as it’s ever been,” Mr. Azcona said.

Danielle Charles, the director of the mariachis and a granddaughter of the couple who began the local mariachi Mass, said the tradition attracted attendees from all backgrounds, not just Spanish speakers.

“The Mass is still the same regardless of language,” she said. “I think that’s beautiful.”

Catholics are spread more evenly across the country.

Las Vegas

Historically concentrated in the Northeast and the Midwest, Catholics are now more evenly spread across the country, with their share growing in the West and the South.

That shift is evident in Las Vegas, where the Catholic population has surged in recent decades and weekend Masses at some parishes are frequently standing room only.

The Very Rev. Miguel Corral, pastor of St. Anne Catholic Church in Las Vegas, said he had lived in the city since the 1990s and had watched the parish steadily grow to about 9,000 registered families. Over time, the parish has added more and more Masses — now up to nine each weekend. He estimates that the services that are standing-room-only draw about 1,200 people each.

Services start as early as 6 a.m., drawing workers in uniform who head straight to their jobs afterward, and continue into the evening with young people and families filling the pews.

And the growth is not limited to Mass attendance. “Think of the weddings,” Father Corral said. “Think of the baptisms.” This year, the parish has more than 1,500 first communions — an increase of about 300 from the year before.

“It’s sad when you hear that the East Coast and Midwest aren’t doing as well,” he said. “But in Las Vegas, it’s the complete opposite. We’re expanding.”

Parishes are adapting to reach the next generation.

Burke, Va.

According to the latest Pew survey, for every person who converts to Catholicism since they were a child, about 8.4 people leave the faith — the highest ratio among major religious groups in the United States examined in the survey. Currently, only 29 percent of Catholics attend religious services weekly or more often, while 11 percent attend once or twice a month.

That has left parishes to try adopting different strategies to keep younger generations engaged.

At the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, that includes offering programs such as pickup sports and Theology on Tap, a speaker series held at local bars.

“If they’re not going to come to the church to learn about Jesus, why not take Jesus out to where they’re hanging out?” said Kevin Bohli, executive director of the diocese’s Office of Youth, Campus and Young Adult Ministries.

Mitchell Jimenez, 33, an auditor, joined the diocese’s basketball games about 10 years ago at the encouragement of a family member. He has attended ever since.

The weekly games became a way to make and keep in touch with friends. Over time, they also helped him re-engage his faith.

Growing up, Mr. Jimenez attended Mass every week. But in college, juggling classes and jobs made regular attendance harder. After joining the league, he began going to Mass more often and attending other events, such as Theology on Tap, encouraged by others in the basketball group.

“It helped me be more accountable to my faith,” he said.

Ruth Graham contributed reporting, and Kirsten Noyes contributed research.