Author Topic: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing. (Read 15540 times)

Telling · « **on:** August 31, 2026, 02:17:08 PM »

This is an Answer to Prayer. I daresay that, in the next 25 odd years, by 2050, the Catholic Church will grow to AT LEAST 2 Billion Souls, thanks in large part to "Digital Missionaries". That's become some of these Social Media Influencers, as the Secular Press calls them, have 100s of Thousands of Followers, in some cases Millions, in some cases even 10s of Millions. If even 10,000 serious Digital Missionaries work together, and win even 10,000 Converts each every 5 years, that's still 100 Million every 5 years, and thus about 500 Million in 25. The Solution to the Crisis will come from Catholic Saints and Catholic Evangelism just like it has always come in Church History, nothing else. Anyway, great to see. I am overjoyed at this news. What do others here think? Pls share your thoughts. God Bless.

Don't call them influencers: 'Digital missionaries' earn Vatican's blessing

As a Catholic youth minister, Angie Bosio enjoys inspiring and educating others in the faith. So when her Facebook followers began expressing interest in purchasing her hobby illustrations of Catholic saints or scenes from daily Bible readings, she launched a website and then an Instagram page.
Still, when the 51-year-old Nashville resident was invited by the Vatican to attend a gathering of Catholic content creators in Rome this summer, it caught Bosio by surprise because she barely had 600 followers.
"The Vatican is definitely trying to reach out, to bring everyone under the tent," Bosio said. "They're acknowledging that this is a space that's not optional. We need to evangelize, and this is a space that people are occupying and we need to bring our Catholic culture into that space."
The Catholic Church isn't alone among faith groups in having recognized social media's potential for proselytizing. Evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham and Paula White-Cain have taken to YouTube to share sermons and teachings. The Dalai Lama has advocated digital outreach among Buddhist monks, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints posts words of inspiration and adherents' personal testimonies for its 1.4 million Instagram followers.
But the Vatican's event in Rome illustrated how the Catholic Church as an institution is unique among major religions in embracing unofficial Catholic voices like Bosio's on social media platforms, aiming to harness the abilities of "digital missionaries" to help lead the global institution into the future.
Heidi Campbell, a professor of communication at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, said the Church's hierarchical authority structure makes it singularly positioned to formally recognize Catholic content creators in hopes of guiding their work on behalf of the faith.
"That kind of approval and advocacy I haven't seen," said Campbell, who is part of a group working to incorporate ideas springing from this summer's gathering to present to the Vatican. "They're saying, this is not just a fringe thing – how do we cultivate this and encourage it?"

Telling · « **Reply #1 on:** August 31, 2026, 02:19:28 PM »

Brett Robinson, associate director for outreach at the University of Notre Dame's McGrath Institute for Church Life in South Bend, Indiana, said the Church is learning to listen to lay people whose social media voices can have an evangelizing effect.
"The decline in institutional trust across the board and the rise in social media has shifted the center of gravity to unofficial voices who often seem more authentic and transparent," Robinson said.
On July 29, Bosio was among more than a thousand global Catholic content creators whom Pope Leo XIV addressed as part of an exclusive Mass held at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. She described the experience as "affirming."
"I feel called to move forward," she said.
The two-day Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers was one of numerous Catholic assemblies taking place this year as part of the Holy Year of the Church, a year of spiritual renewal conducted by the Vatican every 25 years. The event kicked off a weeklong Vatican gathering of young Catholics, with a final Mass attended by a crowd of 1 million.
"For the Church to say, we care not only about the content being created but about the creators – that was really the secret sauce of this gathering, that they consider the work we do significant," said Katie Prejean McGrady, a Louisiana-based author and podcaster with 42,000 Instagram followers who hosts a daily radio show on Sirius XM's Catholic channel.

Telling · « **Reply #2 on:** August 31, 2026, 02:23:22 PM »

While their audiences pale in comparison to that of the pope – @pontifex, the official papal account, has 14 million followers on Instagram and nearly 19 million on X – their official recognition as foot soldiers shows the Church considers them part of its modern evolution.
"It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts," Pope Leo told the content creators assembled at the basilica. "This process begins with accepting our own poverty, letting go of all pretense, and recognizing our own inherent need for the gospel. And this process is a communal endeavor."'The Vatican is very aware'
About 1 in 5 Americans, or about 53 million people, describe themselves as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center. That share has been steady for about a decade but remains slightly lower than in 2007, when Catholics comprised 24% of Americans; in 2023, the center noted that the portion of Latinos identifying as Catholic since 2010 had fallen from 67% to 43%.
While no official data indicates Catholic influencers are having an impact, observers say Catholicism in the United States, at least anecdotally, may be tapping new energy – especially with the selection of Pope Leo, the first North American pope, to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the world's estimated 1.4 billion Catholics.

Telling · « **Reply #3 on:** August 31, 2026, 02:24:15 PM »

According to reports, multiple dioceses around the United States have seen higher or even record numbers of converts and/or people aiming to become full church members, among them Los Angeles; Fort Worth, Texas; Lansing, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana.
"In the wake of Leo's election, there's so much Catholic content out there, and people are engaging with it," said McGrady, who was involved in the event's planning. "The Vatican is very aware."
Catholics around the country who follow such accounts for inspiration, spiritual growth, news and affirmation are glad to see the Vatican embrace the community as well.
Teresa Kosse, a retiree in Louisville, Kentucky, said she turned to Catholic social media during the isolation of the pandemic, livestreaming Masses and participating in rosary recitations. The lifelong Catholic now follows content creators of all ages on Instagram and YouTube, moved by those who share their faith journeys while dealing with tribulations such as cancer.
"These are things we all face," said Kosse, 61. "To see people bearing the crosses we all have and talking about it out loud, it shows that hey, life isn't perfect or easy, that we can lean on (God) and that something better awaits us in the end."

Telling · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2026, 02:26:15 PM »

In San Antonio, Texas, J.P. DeLoera, 41, was glued to the Vatican livestream when white smoke billowed from St. Peter's in Rome in April, signaling that the conclave had chosen a successor to Pope Francis. The social media accounts he follows include podcasters, everyday Catholics and clergy such as a baseball-loving friar who has visited Major League stadiums nationwide, engaging with fans outside.
"It's wonderful to see Catholic content producers from all over the world," said DeLoera, a partner at a commerical insurance brokerage company. "I use social media to witness the strength that other Catholics have, but also to continue learning."

Digital missionaries, not influencers

Robinson, of Notre Dame, said that while the Vatican's embrace of content creators reflects an openness to adjust with the times, it's also cognizant of the pitfalls that social media spaces can pose. That's partly why it emphasizes the idea of "digital missionaries" over "influencers."
"When you hear 'influencer,' you tend to associate it with a celebrity or product placement," Robinson said. "A digital missionary is different; it's someone who recognizes the potential to reach the lonely and hurting and heal the wounds that are there."
Radio host McGrady agreed, saying the term influencer "feels skeevy."

CathInfo.com

Author Topic: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing. (Read 15540 times)

Telling

Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing.

Telling

Re: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing.

Telling

Re: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing.

Telling

Re: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing.

Telling

Re: Digital Missionaries earn Vatican's Blessing.