The Catholic Rural Youth Movement (KLJB) Bavaria 2023 has grown against the general trend among churches. According to its own information on Monday, the association increased its membership by four percent. At the end of 2023 it was again a good 800 above the important mark of 25,000. “We are very happy that things are continuing to improve for us as the largest rural youth association,” said KLJB state chairman Franz Wacker.
According to Wacker, the growth in membership shows “that in the great crisis of trust in our church, we as youth work show a completely different image of young churches in the country: open to everyone, democratic and diverse.”
According to the announcement, the number of members of the KLJB Bayern has fluctuated around 25,000 since 1996. In the Corona years 2020/21 it fell by five percent to around 24,500. This development has now been caught up again.
Growth varied regionally. In the dioceses of Passau and Eichstätt, the increase achieved in 2023 was eight percent, twice as high as the national average. The KLJB won in previous strongholds with strong local groups, such as the Rottal-Inn district association. But there were also new companies founded.