Writer Becky Hunter Kelm highlights Sister Albertine, a young French nun turned viral faith-influencer, whose social media presence is sparking a quiet revival among Gen Z.
You have to be living under a rock not to realise that social media is a key way today that young people connect with one another, the world around them and, increasingly, faith. And whilst the words ‘Nun’ and ‘influencer’ don’t usually go in the same sentence, I’m blown away by how modern technology is playing a part in a quiet Catholicism revival amongst Gen Z in France today.
Despite the Catholic Church being in decline over the last few decades, France is currently reporting a revival of young Catholics amongst Gen Z, with baptisms quadrupling over the last four years- and the Church claims that it’s being partially fuelled by social media. Young Catholic influencers are taking to their Insta grids and stories to show the world that they are alive and kicking, and very much here to share their beliefs, sermons- and their best memes- to reach new people with the gospel.
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Sister Albertine (@soeur .albertine) is a 29-year-old French Catholic nun who has over 300.000 followers on Instagram and 200.000 more on TikTok, and she told CNN: ‘We had pretty much announced the end of Catholicism. At one time, I thought that it was really a grandma’s thing, but now we’re seeing young people no longer ashamed of their faith.’
Sister Albertine says that she is as surprised as everyone else that her account became so popular!
Sister Albertine says that she is as surprised as everyone else that her account became so popular! She started the account to show the world what her life was like as a Catholic nun, and then began to share posts on worship and prayer, topics on the Catholic faith, and to answer some of life’s big questions for young people.
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As a youth worker and mum-of-three who worries about navigating social media and smartphones with my kids in the future, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. As Christians, His Great Commission for us was to ‘go and make disciples’. This means we need to actively be ‘going’ where young people are spending time and searching for answers- and in 2025, this undoubtedly includes the online world.
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Sister Albertine is young, relatable, and instantly likeable, but this goes beyond a Catholic church rebrand as ‘cool’ to get bums on the pews. Faith-influencers like Sister Albertine are providing the answers that young people inside and outside of the church are craving: forgiveness, ethics, sex, family, money in the church, and more.
In a world obsessed with the self, where the dominant other voices in our culture tell us to ‘put yourself first, you’re the only one who matters,’ young people want more.
In a world obsessed with the self, where the dominant other voices in our culture tell us to ‘put yourself first, you’re the only one who matters,’ young people want more. They want a voice they can relate to. Sister Albertine’s content is relevant for the young people growing up and navigating the challenges of everyday life today. A great example would be her video with prayers for exam times that had over 2 million views.
When I think about teenagers endlessly scrolling TikTok, I picture the endless skincare routines, makeup tutorials, and dance videos that are fun to watch for a moment but leave young women in particular feeling empty and ‘not good enough’. Could it be that the pendulum is swinging back, and Gen Z is realizing that self-indulgence, the constant pressure to look perfect and keep up with the Joneses materialistically, will never provide the peace that we were made for? The peace that only can come from knowing your Creator?
It seems so! Abbot Hugh Allan, the director of mission at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told CNN that from the young people he speaks to, ‘there’s a real desire at the moment to know more about God.’ And both the Vatican and Sister Albertine admit that this quiet revival that God is allowing in His grace to flow through smartphones across France isn’t something humans can plan- or control: ‘For me, there is God’s humour in it, God passes through algorithms, God passes through social media.’ (Sister Albertine).
Any kind of revival is entirely God’s doing, so let’s thank him for the way he is at work in this generation, and let’s pray for more, because only his spirit can draw the hearts of those seeking him. As I clicked ‘follow’ on Sister Albertine’s account today I thanked God for her, and I said a prayer for her that God would continue to use her mightily to reach this generation with the soul-saving good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, why don’t you do the same?
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