Age 13 Is When They Decide to Leave the Church: What Catholic Grandparents Can Do Before the Window Closes

Maria Thompson | December 12, 2025

Many grandparents assume their faith will naturally be passed down. But today, fewer children remain active in the Church as they grow older, even in faithful families. These five simple actions can help ensure what you believe doesn't end with you, even if your grandkids live hundeds of miles away.

Text Content

Many Catholic grandparents assume their faith will naturally be passed down. But today, fewer children remain active in the Church as they grow older, even in faithful families. These five simple actions can help ensure what you believe doesn't end with you, even if your grandkids live hundreds of miles away.

If you're a Catholic grandparent, you probably think about your legacy more than you used to. What will your grandchildren remember about you when you're gone? Will they remember your faith?

 

The statistics are heart-breaking: only 4 in 10 Catholic children raised in the faith will still practice as adults. Most grandparents don't realize until it's too late that Sunday Mass attendance isn't enough.

"Very often it is grandparents who ensure that the most important values are passed down to their grandchildren. A family that fails to respect and cherish its grandparents, who are its living memory, is already in decline."

— Pope Francis

"Very often it is grandparents who ensure that the most important values are passed down to their grandchildren. A family that fails to respect and cherish its grandparents, who are its living memory, is already in decline."                                                   — Pope Francis

After speaking with dozens of Catholic grandparents who've watched their grandchildren drift away, we've identified 5 critical things you should do now, while you still can.

#1. Stop Assuming They'll "Absorb" It

Faith isn't osmosis. Your grandchildren won't automatically adopt your beliefs just because you take them to Mass or say grace at dinner. They are extremely important but sometimes kids require a bit more from us. It becomes an even greater difficulty to have an influence if your grandchildren live hundreds of miles away.

 

The world is too loud. Social media, friends, teachers, influencers, they're all forming your grandchildren's worldview every single day. And most of that formation is pulling them away from faith, not toward it.

 

We recently spoke with a grandmother from Ohio whose granddaughter was raised Catholic, First Communion, Confirmation, Catholic youth group. She stopped going to Mass at age 19.

 

"I thought if we just kept bringing her to church, it would stick," she told us. "I thought she'd figure it out on her own."

 

But passive exposure doesn't work anymore. Not in this culture. The research is clear: the grandparents who succeed in passing down faith are intentional. They don't hope. They act.

 

The grandparents who succeed don't just expose their grandchildren to faith. They anchor it. Point 3 explains how.

#2. Understand the Critical Window (Ages 10-18)

Most Catholic children who leave the faith make that decision between ages 10 and 18. After 18, very few come back.

 

This is your window. Not someday. Not when they're "ready to understand." Now.

 

Studies show that 85% of Catholics who leave the faith do so before age 23. And once they're gone, only about 15% ever return.

 

Think about that: if your 13-year-old granddaughter stops going to Mass at 18, there's an 85% chance she'll never come back.

 

One grandfather we spoke with said it perfectly: "I kept thinking I had time. But now my grandson is 22, and hasn't been to confession in four years. I missed the window."

 

These years matter more than most of us realize.

 

But here's what the grandparents who succeeded did differently: they gave their grandchildren something physical to hold onto. Not just words. Not just memories. Something real that could anchor faith when the world pulled them away.

When Your Own Children Don't Seem to Care

 

Here's the hardest part: sometimes the biggest obstacle isn't the world. It's your own adult children.

 

Only 17% of Catholic parents today consider it "very important" for their children to share their faith. That means 83% are neutral or indifferent about what you care about most.

 

You can't control what your adult children prioritize. But you CAN still reach your grandchildren directly.

"Sometimes you have a better relationship with your grandchildren than with your own children. Grandparents can skip the middle generation."

— Catherine Wiley, Founder of Catholic Grandparents Association

Quote

"Sometimes you have a better relationship with your grandchildren than with your own children. Grandparents can skip the middle generation."

— Catherine Wiley, Founder of Catholic Grandparents Association

You have a unique bond. You're not the enforcer. You're the safe place. The one who listens. The one who loves unconditionally. That relationship is more powerful than you realize.

#3. Put Something Tangible in Their Hands

This is where most grandparents get it wrong.

 

They assume faith is taught through words, through conversations, through explaining theology. But faith is also anchored in objects. In traditions. In things you can hold.

 

When your grandchildren's faith wavers, and it will, they need something physical to cling to. Not just an idea. Not just a memory of you taking them to church. Something real.

"For multiple years I taught confirmation at our parish. Each class, I posed the same question, 'Who has been your role model in the faith?' Hands down, the most common answer was 'my grandma' or 'my grandpa'? Every single time.

— Confirmation Teacher, Catholic Diocese

"For multiple years I taught confirmation at our parish. Each class came with a variety of students from different backgrounds, families and schools. Some knew their faith, most did not. But with each class, I posed the same question, 'Who has been your role model in the faith?' Would you guess that hands down the most common answer was 'my grandma' or 'my grandpa'? Every single time and with every single class, their answers consistently were that grandparents are the role models of our faith."

— Confirmation Teacher, Catholic Diocese

Many Catholic grandparents have found something that helps: giving their grandchildren a rosary that becomes a family heirloom. Not decorative, something they actually use. Something that lasts.

One grandmother told us: "I wanted them to have something from the Holy Land. Something they could hold when I'm gone and remember that faith mattered to me."

 

A grandfather said: "I gave each of my grandkids a rosary at their Confirmation. I told them: this is from where Jesus walked. And one day, you'll pass it to your own children."

 

These aren't decorative. These are prayer tools made from olive wood grown in Bethlehem, where Jesus walked. Each one contains authentic Jerusalem soil sealed inside the center medallion.

 

The rosary becomes a physical connection, to you, to the Holy Land, and to 2,000 years of Christians who prayed with similar rosaries.

 

When they're 25 and doubting everything, they can hold this and remember: my grandparents believed. They prayed for me. This faith is real.

Your Prayers Already Connect You, Make Them Visible

 

You've been praying for your grandchildren since before they were born. Every morning rosary. Every grace before meals. Every whispered prayer when you see their photo on your wall.

 

Those prayers aren't invisible. They're real. They matter. But your grandchildren can't see them.

A Grandmother's Story: 

"I learned first-hand that grandparents and grandchildren are deeply connected when meeting one of my newborn granddaughters, Lila, in the hospital. She quickly turned her head at the sound of my voice and her eyes actually opened wide when she saw me. Her look was not blank, but wise as she looked deeply into my eyes. It was as if she thought, 'Ah, so this is what you look like; I remember your voice.'"

A Grandmother's Story: 

"I learned first-hand that grandparents and grandchildren are deeply connected when meeting my newborn granddaughter in the hospital. She quickly turned her head at the sound of my voice and her eyes opened wide. It was as if she thought, 'Ah, so this is what you look like; I remember your voice."

This rosary becomes the physical proof of that connection. When your granddaughter holds it at 14, at 19, at 25, she's holding your prayers. The wood remembers. The soil remembers. And so will she.

 

Years from now, when you're gone, she'll hold this rosary and feel that bond again. She'll know you prayed for her every single day. That invisible labor becomes visible. That spiritual connection becomes tangible.

See Full Details and Reviews

Chosen by over 4000 Catholic families

#4. Act Now. Tomorrow Isn't Guaranteed

After a health scare last year, Ruth, a 67-year-old grandmother from Texas, realized she'd been putting off conversations about faith.

 

"I kept thinking I had time," she told us. "But tomorrow isn't guaranteed."

 

She ordered rosaries for all five of her grandchildren that week. When they arrived, she gave them out individually, each with a letter explaining why their grandmother's faith mattered.

 

"I don't know if it'll be enough," she said. "But at least I did something while I still could."

 

Another grandfather we spoke with had a similar wake-up call: "I watched my best friend die suddenly at 68. He always said he'd teach his grandkids about faith 'someday.' Now they'll never have that conversation."

 

The grandparents who pass down faith aren't the ones who wait for the perfect moment. They're the ones who act today.

 

You don't need to have everything figured out. You just need to do something now that will outlast you.

 

Because six in ten Catholic children walk away from the faith. And the window is closing.

#5. Give Them Something Worth Passing Down

One day, someone will ask your grandchildren: "Where did this rosary come from?"

That answer matters.

 

"Amazon" doesn't carry faith forward. "China" doesn't inspire prayer.

 

But this does:

 

"It was made by Christian artisans in Bethlehem. From olive wood grown where Jesus walked. With soil from Jerusalem sealed inside. Your grandmother prayed with it every day."

 

That story gets told again and again and again. That's how faith becomes family history.

 

The rosaries made from olive wood in Bethlehem aren't just prayer tools. They're heirlooms. Built from solid wood that lasts decades, not plastic that breaks in a backpack.

 

When you give your grandchildren something that connects them to the Holy Land, you're giving them more than an object. You're giving them a piece of sacred history they can hold onto when everything else feels uncertain.

The Rosary Catholic Grandparents Are Choosing

After speaking with hundreds of Catholic grandparents, most are ordering handcrafted olive wood rosaries from Bethlehem.

 

Why?

 

✓ Made from authentic olive wood where Jesus walked
✓ Contains genuine Jerusalem soil sealed inside
✓ Handcrafted by Christian families in the Holy Land
✓ Built to last generations (not years)
✓ Every rosary is unique 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

4.9 stars from 348 Catholic families

Testimonial

"My 13-year-old granddaughter doesn't express interest in church. I hope this rosary keeps her grounded and reminds her that her grandmother was a woman of faith and prayed for her."

— Madison C., Verified Purchase

Testimonial

"I saw Margaret at Sunday Mass, and she couldn't stop talking about how her granddaughter Emma keeps the rosary on her nightstand. Emma even sent her a photo of it sitting there next to her lamp at college. When Margaret told me where she got it, I ordered two that same afternoon."

— Patricia R., St. Anthony Parish

Testimonial

"I gave this to my grandson at his Confirmation. He's 16 now and going through a tough time. His mother told me she found him praying with it in his room last week."

— Robert M., Verified Purchase

"My 13-year-old granddaughter doesn't express interest in church. I hope this rosary keeps her grounded and reminds her that her grandmother was a woman of faith and prayed for her."

— Madison C.

"I saw Margaret at Sunday Mass, and she couldn't stop talking about how her granddaughter Emma keeps the rosary on her nightstand. Emma even sent her a photo of it sitting there next to her lamp at college. When Margaret told me where she got it, I ordered two that same afternoon."

— Patricia R., St. Anthony Parish

"I gave this to my grandson at his Confirmation. He's 16 now and going through a tough time. His mother told me she found him praying with it in his room last week."

— Robert M.

View Rosaries, Bundles & 348 Reviews

✅ Receive within 4-6 days

✅ 60-day money back 

✅ Lifetime warranty

✅ Receive within 4-6 business days ✅ 60-day money back guarantee ✅ Lifetime warranty

You're Not Alone In This

 

Thousands of Catholic grandparents across the world are facing what you're facing right now. The fear. The urgency. The heartbreak of watching a grandchild drift.

 

You're not the first grandmother to lie awake at night wondering if you've done enough. You're not the first grandfather to feel like you're fighting an entire culture alone.

Founded by Catherine Wiley after she wrote to Pope Francis in desperation, pleading for guidance on how to keep her own grandchildren in the faith. Today, the Association helps grandparents worldwide pass down their faith and keep prayer at the heart of family life.

"I endorse the Catholic Grandparents Association's mission of helping Grandparents pass on the faith and keeping prayer at the heart of the family life."

— Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

These rosaries have become treasured prayer tools among Association members, grandparents who pray with them daily for their grandchildren's souls, who give them as gifts that anchor faith, who use them as tangible proof of their invisible labor.

 

The grandparents who've kept their grandchildren in the faith all say the same thing: they didn't wait. They were intentional. They were urgent.

 

But they also weren't alone.

Founded by Catherine Wiley after she wrote to Pope Francis in desperation, pleading for guidance on how to keep her own grandchildren in the faith. Today, the Association helps grandparents worldwide pass down their faith and keep prayer at the heart of family life.

Quote

"I endorse the Catholic Grandparents Association's mission of helping Grandparents pass on the faith and keeping prayer at the heart of the family life."

— Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York

These rosaries have become treasured prayer tools among Association members, grandparents who pray with them daily for their grandchildren's souls, who give them as gifts that anchor faith, who use them as tangible proof of their invisible labor.

 

The grandparents who've kept their grandchildren in the faith all say the same thing: they didn't wait. They were intentional. They were urgent.

 

But they also weren't alone.

Your Window Is Right Now

 

Research from the St. Mary's Press study found that young adults stopped identifying as Catholics at a median age of 13, long before anyone could see it happening. By the time they leave for college, 79% who drift have already made that decision.

 

That's why this moment matters.

 

Not because this rosary will magically keep your grandchild in the faith. But because it becomes the tangible connection between your daily prayers and their daily life. Years from now, even when you're gone, they'll hold this and remember: "My grandmother prayed for me. Every single day."

 

The olive wood will outlast you. The prayers it represents will outlive you. And the legacy you're creating? That's eternal.

 

The grandparents who succeeded didn't wait for certainty. They didn't wait to feel ready. They acted while they still could.

 

You still have today. You still have this moment.

Choose Your Rosary

Join 4,000 Catholic granparents who've chosen to pass down their faith