Labari links this phenomenon to the so-called catholic-core, an aesthetic trend that has incorporated Marian medals, crucifixes, and rosaries as fashion accessories. As the journalist points out, “you don’t have to be Catholic to wear a virgin.”
The article describes the bewilderment of mothers and fathers who discover how their daughters are drawn to religious symbols that they themselves had left behind. The situation reverses the traditional idea of youthful rebellion: if for decades rebelling against parents could mean abandoning religion, now, in certain circles, it may consist precisely in approaching it.
Labari even raises the concern that could arise in these families over the possibility that interest in the Virgin Mary might eventually lead their daughters to embrace values such as chastity or purity, traditionally associated with Catholic morality.
Increase in Catholic identification among young Spaniards
The journalist cites data from the report Young Spaniards 2026 by the SM Foundation, which shows a 13.4 percentage point increase in Catholic identification among young Spaniards between 2020 and 2025.
According to the study, the percentage of young people aged 15 to 29 who consider themselves Catholic, including non-practicing ones, rose from 31.6% in 2020 to 45% in 2025. In addition, 38.4% believe that religion has quite a lot or a great deal of importance in their lives, the highest percentage recorded in the report’s historical series.
These figures add to other studies that have detected a rebound in religious practice among young Spanish Catholics. One of them indicated that 34.6% of Catholics aged 18 to 24 consider themselves practicing, a proportion higher than that recorded in several adult generations, although young people continue to be the group with the highest presence of non-religious individuals.
The SM Foundation report also shows that the increase in Catholic identification coexists with beliefs from different spiritual traditions, so it cannot be directly equated with an increase in religious practice or adherence to Church doctrine.
Fashion or the beginning of a spiritual search?
Gaudium Press has echoed Labari’s article and raises the question of whether interest in Marian medals and rosaries is solely a fashion trend or could mark the beginning of a spiritual search.
The publication notes that wearing these symbols does not by itself demonstrate a religious conversion, but neither does it rule out the possibility that some young women may find in them a first approach to the Catholic faith.
Regarding the concern Labari attributes to certain parents about values such as chastity or purity, the Christian tradition presents the Virgin Mary as a woman who freely responds to God’s call. It also emphasizes that chastity is not a virtue reserved for women, but a moral requirement that the Church proposes to both men and women.
Beyond the aesthetic component, Labari links interest in these symbols to the need of new generations to find spaces for personal search. The journalist wonders what is left for young women when role models and places to develop that intimate longing fail.
Her response, with which the article concludes, summarizes the paradox of this new form of rebellion: “Perhaps the Virgin. Or the revolution.”