Last month, I had the incredible privilege of attending the 2-day Jubilee of Digital Missionaries & Catholic Influencers in Rome on July 28-29, 2025. This extraordinary gathering brought together Catholic content creators, digital evangelizers, and online ministers from around the world to explore our calling as "Instruments of Grace" in the digital age.
Over those two transformative days, I filled pages with insights, challenges, and inspiration that have fundamentally shifted how I view my role in digital ministry. The speakers didn't just talk about social media strategy or content creation techniques -- they called us to something much deeper: authentic witness, purposeful engagement, and the courage to bring the light of Christ into every corner of the Internet.
What follows is a synthesis of the notes I took during this powerful event. I've organized the key themes and insights that emerged, hoping they might inspire and guide other digital missionaries who, like me, are seeking to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of evangelizing in our connected world.
Whether you're a seasoned Catholic influencer or someone just beginning to explore how faith and digital platforms intersect (like me), these reflections offer a roadmap for becoming true instruments of grace online.
Before I walk you through my notes, here's a highlights reel that captures the energy and spirit of those two incredible days in Rome:
Jubilee of Digital Missionaries & Catholic Influencers: We are Instruments of Grace - Summary
Core Identity and Mission
We are instruments of grace - called to be in this world but not of it. As digital evangelizers, we speak the language of the modern world while remaining rooted in eternal truth. Our mission extends beyond the tech-savvy; all Catholics are called to digital evangelization, participating in service and communion as we bring the Good News to every corner of the digital world.
Authentic Witness Over Success
Authenticity over image-building is paramount. We preach the Gospel not to build successful personal brands or merchandise ourselves, but to save souls. Our goal is to win souls, not arguments. We are blessings to share, not products to sell. God uses our brokenness for His glory, not ours - we must stop pointing to ourselves and surrender our platforms to Jesus.
Content with Purpose and Love
Meaningful content over mere content creation defines our approach. In a world overwhelmed by meaningless content, we must create with love, reflecting our values and seeking truth and life's meaning. Our content should emerge from what burns in our hearts, not from FOMO or ego-centric motivations. We don't negotiate principles to please crowds.
Encounter and Community Building
Digital encounter spaces transform how we engage. Instead of focusing on ourselves, we ask our audiences how they feel and create platforms for genuine encounter. We build digital communities that serve as bridges and connections, sharing bread and prayer together. We don't isolate but actively foster unity within the Church.
Hearts on Fire
The fire within must be kindled. The world needs hearts that burn and words that emerge from silence. This transformative fire far surpasses any artificial lights the world offers. We must identify what burns in our hearts and courageously share it, as love naturally communicates itself.
Truth and Hope Over Metrics
Value lies in truth shared, not likes received. While algorithms know everything about our digital behavior, they cannot measure the soul, love, or grace. We communicate truth and communion, having the courage to dream new versions of the world. As creators and artists, we generate meaning and hope, serving as agents of communion and evangelization.
Unity and Compassion in Communication
Unity within diversity remains essential. We face the challenge of algorithmic filtering that reduces diversity, and we must resist creating enemies over differing opinions. Following Jesus's prayer in John 17:21 for unity, we work together with the Church rather than against each other. Our communication should never encourage rage, even when the Church itself sometimes lacks compassion.
The Revolutionary Power of Listening
Silence and listening have become revolutionary. We must remain human, giving others the powerful feeling of being truly heard. This includes posting positive comments, including other believers, and showing solidarity with those who need support.
Salt and Light Balance
Both salt and light are necessary for effective digital ministry. The Church with too much salt becomes parochial and stuck, while light alone can become shiny, superficial, and empty. Digital missionaries need the salt of the one, holy, Catholic, apostolic Church combined with creative evangelization that brings light to the world.
Practical Applications
- Meet quarterly with priests and bishops for guidance and accountability
- Support fellow believers and missionaries in challenging situations
- Focus on building people up through experimental approaches
- Maintain regular communication with Church hierarchy
- Remember that we don't know who we'll ultimately influence - faith is an immeasurable gift
Pope Leo XIV's Address to Digital Missionaries in St. Peter's Basilica (July 29, 2025):
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, peace be with you!
Dear brothers and sisters, we have began with this greeting: peace be with you!
How much we need peace in these times marked by hostility and war, which in turn calls us to give witness to the greeting of the Risen Lord: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19). May his peace be with all of us, in our hearts and in our actions.
This is the mission of the Church: to proclaim peace to the world! The peace that comes from the Lord, who conquered death, brings us God’s forgiveness, gives us the life of the Father, and shows us the way of Love!
1. This is the mission that the Church entrusts to each of you who have come to Rome for your Jubilee. You are here to renew your commitment to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces. Peace needs to be sought, proclaimed, and shared everywhere, both in the places where we see the tragedy of war and in the empty hearts of those who have lost the meaning of life and the desire for introspection and the spiritual life. Perhaps, today more than ever, we need missionary disciples who convey the gift of the Risen Lord to the world; who voice to the ends of the earth the hope that Jesus gives us (cf. Acts 1:3-8); and who go wherever there is a heart that waits, seeks, and is in need. Yes, to the ends of the earth, to the farthest reaches, where there is no hope.
2. There is a second challenge in this mission: always look for the “suffering flesh of Christ” in every brother and sister you encounter online. Today we find ourselves in a new culture, deeply characterized and formed by technology. It is up to us – it is up to each one of you – to ensure that this culture remains human.
Science and technology influence the way we live in the world, even affecting how we understand ourselves and how we relate to God, how we relate to one another. But nothing that comes from man and his creativity should be used to undermine the dignity of others. Our mission – your mission – is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism, and to do so together. This is the beauty of the “network” for all of us.
Faced with cultural changes throughout history, the Church has never remained passive; she has always sought to illuminate every age with the light and hope of Christ by discerning good from evil and what was good from what needed to be changed, transformed, and purified.
Today we are in a culture where the technological dimension is present in almost everything, especially as the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence will mark a new era in the lives of individuals and society as a whole. This is a challenge that we must face: reflecting on the authenticity of our witness, on our ability to listen and speak, and on our capacity to understand and to be understood. We have a duty to work together to develop a way of thinking, to develop a language, of our time, that gives voice to Love.
It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts. This will entail seeking out those who suffer, those who need to know the Lord, so that they may heal their wounds, get back on their feet and find meaning in their lives. Above all, 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.
3. This brings us to the third invitation in this mission, which I extend to all of you: “go and mend the nets.” Jesus called his first apostles while they were mending their fishing nets (cf. Mt 4:21-22). He asks the same of us today. Indeed, he asks us to weave other nets: networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic; networks where we can mend what has been broken, heal from loneliness, not focus on the number of followers, but experience the greatness of infinite Love in every encounter; networks that give space to others more than to ourselves, where no “bubble” can silence the voices of the weakest; networks that liberate and save; networks that help us rediscover the beauty of looking into each other’s eyes; networks of truth. In this way, every story of shared goodness will be a knot in a single, immense network: the network of networks, the network of God.
Be agents of communion, capable of breaking down the logic of division and polarization, of individualism and egocentrism. Centre yourselves on Christ, so as to overcome the logic of the world, of fake news, of frivolity, with the beauty and light of Truth (cf. Jn 8:31-32).
Before concluding with a blessing and commending your witness to the Lord, I would like to thank you for all the good you have done and continue to do in your lives: for pursuing your dreams, for your love for the Lord Jesus and your love for the Church, for the help you give to those who suffer, and for your journey along the virtual highways.
No comments:
Post a Comment