Pope Francis is the most talked about person on the Internet, and his charisma is driving thousands back to church, according to research published this month.

A study by the head of Italy’s Center for the Study of New Religions (Cesnur), Massimo Introvigne, found that just over half of the 250 priests he surveyed reported a substantial increase in church attendance since Francis’s election.

“If we project those results nationally, and if only half the parishes and communities in Italy have been touched by the Francis effect, then we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people who are returning,” he said.

A smaller survey of only 22 English cathedrals found that the rise in Britain could be even more dramatic: 65 percent reported an increase in attendance.

“The new pontiff’s popularity has transformed the image of the church in its homeland” wrote Cristina Odone, a journalist at the Telegraph and former editor of the Catholic Herald. “The people and even the cynical press have taken him to their heart.”

“Francis is like no other pope,” she continues. “It’s taken less than a year for Papa Francesco to rewrite the script—his lines, and the media’s too. No more snide asides about pedophile priests, a misogynist hierarchy and innate corruption. Journalists prefer to focus on heart-warming anecdotes that reveal the pope’s kindness, charity and self-deprecating humor.”

On November 6, the Global Language Monitor published a study of English language blogs, social media and 275,000 online media which concluded that Pope Francis is the most discussed name on the Internet. His name on Twitter, @Pontifex, was the fourth most discussed word.

The pope beat “Obamacare” “nsa” and “Ed Snowden” for the title of most popular name. In an article titled “Pope Francis Won the Internet. Literally.” Daniel Burke, the co-editor of cnn’s belieg blog, wrote: “It’s official: Pope Francis is the most talked-about person on the planet. More folks have been chatting about the popular new pontiff online this year than Edward Snowden, Kate Middleton or even the Internet’s favorite bad girl, Miley Cyrus.”

The pope is bringing a new level of popularity and even respect to the Roman Catholic Church. He is helping to completely overhaul the church’s image. For more on what this means to the Catholic Church’s role in Europe, see our article “A Union of Church and State.”