From TikTok testimonies to hashtagged homilies, technology is changing the process of evangelization. You may have even noticed a new kind of influencer popping up on your feed: the digital missionary.
These modern evangelizers are taking the internet by storm, and for the very first time, the Catholic Church is celebrating their efforts by inviting them to Rome for the Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers.
The idea to engage digital missionaries was born from the recent Synod on Synodality, when Pope Francis asked Catholics across the world to participate in the discussion about the Church. During this process, Msgr. Lucio Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, recognized many people were already sharing their faith online and decided to actively involve them in the Church’s mission:
“They weren’t just simple influencers who presented topics or sold items, but they were people who loved Jesus and the Church and who dedicated themselves to seeking out suffering and bringing the Word, to finding and healing wounds. Right? So they were Good Samaritans on the web.”
Msgr. Ruiz explains that, for digital missionaries, the internet is more than a platform. It’s a way to meet people where they are: on their screens.
It’s an effort being taken up by Catholic influencers like Katie McGrady, who sees the Church’s embrace of the digital age as encouraging. She notes:
“I think the embrace of this terminology, the idea that the Internet is not a fad, social media is actually the Roman forum of today, and the Church has something to say about it and wants to encourage people who are in that space and who are working there to do it well and to be tethered to Holy Mother Church as they do it, it gives me a great hope that we will not be behind.”
And because social media knows no borders, this technological embrace is resonating across continents. One voice echoing this sentiment is Father John Paul, from Namibia, Africa, who sees digital engagement as not only exciting, but essential. He comments:
“This is how the Church communicates in the new world, where technology and communication are vital. Therefore, it's very significant if we are using the media as a social communication to reach people, especially nowadays. Everybody's there, on communication. Young people -- they are not really willing to be here and there, but when you have software, or a website, or a page, then you can evangelize. You can reach them. You can serve them.”
Priests aren’t the only Church leaders online either. Pope Leo is a long-time user of social media, and upon being elected, he launched his papal accounts on X and Instagram, where he has reached 18.8 and 14 million followers, respectively.
But the Jubilee for Digital Missionaries isn’t just about big numbers. It marks a historic moment of recognition for these modern missionaries.
McGrady adds, “In 100 years, when the Internet is vastly different and, with influencing, who knows what it's going to look like, I don't even know what it's going to look like in the next 10 years. But I think in 100 years, the Jubilee of 2025, we’ll be able to say, historically, that was the first time the church acknowledged this particular group and gave them attention and encouragement. And I can't wait to experience that. I can't wait to share that.”
In a world driven by follows, likes, and shares, digital missionaries and catholic influencers are paving the way for a new generation of evangelizers. But even in this era of online connection, the heart of the church is still found in person, in Rome, where these digital missionaries will gather on July 28th and 29th to celebrate their faith.
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Casey Mann, EWTN Intern, wrote this story. Adapted by Jacob Stein.
