Does surge in adult baptisms reflect need for meaning?

In the Catholic weekly magazine Gość Niedzielny, editor Marcin Jakimowicz points to a growing need for religion, also felt in the Czech Republic:

“There is a huge, unfulfilled longing for the spirituality within us. I see it at every turn. Even just across our southern border in Ostrava, or in the pretty town of Štramberk, when I pass little shops selling esoteric items. … This is why the statistics from abroad come as no surprise to me: ‘France: up to 21,000 catechumens [candidates for baptism] will be baptised on Holy Saturday’. … If we give up and succumb to miserabilist mantras and whining, it means that the Gospel has lost its appeal. If, however, it retains its original freshness and vitality, it means that we can still expect surprises ahead.”