Why You Should Care About the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries & Catholic Influencers

(Image: CNS Photo)

This week a quiet yet historic moment unfolded: the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, held in the heart of the Church on July 28th and 29th. The event, hosted by the Vatican itself, formed part of the broader celebrations for the Jubilee Year and coincided with the Jubilee of Young People. If, like me, you found yourself doing a double-take at the pairing of the words “Vatican” and “Influencer,” you’re not alone. It’s an unexpected juxtaposition, and yet a powerful one. This event was a milestone that I suspect will be remembered as a watershed moment in twenty-first-century evangelisation.

In this striking new chapter, the Church, under the leadership of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, is not only acknowledging the digital world but commissioning it as an essential missionary space. Social media is being recognised as a fertile and necessary frontier for spreading the word of God. Indeed, Catholic social media has become a spiritual lifeline for many. Beyond the noise and trends, it’s increasingly a space where the beauty of liturgical living, the depth of the saints’ lives, and the call to virtue are being rediscovered and shared. From simple faith reflections to the theology of the body, Catholic content is reaching corners of the world (and hearts) that traditional methods alone may never have touched. In fact, some Catholic missionaries are even priests and nuns, striving to bring the word of God to the masses. Bishop Barron springs to mind, who leads the Word on Fire Organisation with its mission of evangelising the culture.

The digital world is the “America” of our era, ripe with spiritual opportunity and waiting to be claimed for Christ.“Being a missionary of hope,” reads the official event website, “means accepting Christ’s call to bring the Good News to every corner, especially in the digital world.” And this week, the cobbled piazzas of the Vatican were walked not just by cardinals and priests, but by digital missionaries, often young and lay, preparing to livestream their way through the colonnades of St Peter’s Square.

Pope Leo addressed the missionaries, who hailed from all around the world, on Tuesday the 29^th of August at St Peter’s Basilica, calling them “to nurture a culture of Christian humanism”. One could almost imagine the great saints of old (St Augustine, St Benedict and St Francis) looking down and smiling at this strange, luminous network of modern-day missionaries, filming Pope Leo’s speech with passion. The Holy Father acknowledged the Church’s role throughout history in responding to cultural changes, and emphasised that the Church has sought to “illuminate every age with the light and hope of Christ by discerning good from evil.” Just as the Church has spoken boldly on contraception, abortion, and artificial reproduction—through the timeless encyclicals Humanae Vitae and Evangelium Vitae—so too must she now engage the digital continent. And while today’s young Catholics may not always sit down to read a papal document cover to cover, they are scrolling through TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, encountering Catholic truth in reels, stories, and livestreams.

Speaking to the digital missionaries, Pope Leo pointed out that it is not a popularity contest, and gently warned of how important it is not to focus on the number of followers but rather to “experience the greatness of infinite Love in every encounter.” Moreover, “It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts.” Drawing on Christ’s imagery to the first disciples, His Holiness spoke of fishing, but in a new sense. “He asks us to weave other nets: networks of relationships, of love, of gratuitous sharing where friendship is profound and authentic.” This rich imagery, nets of grace cast into the sea of cyberspace, is more than poetic. It’s practical. It speaks to the real mission of these influencers, who are striving to reveal the face of Christ and God’s great love for us. It’s the same mission that once sent barefoot missionaries to distant shores. Now, some of those missionaries wear sneakers, carry iphones and tripods, and even proclaim the Gospel in 30 second reels.

Pope Leo’s words are rich with meaning and insight, and I have no doubt the Holy Spirit gave him the gift of specific and accessible language to fuel the fire of evangelisation which burns so brightly in the faithful who travelled to Rome to be a part of this event. Among those present in Rome this week was pro-life advocate Lila Rose, whose passion for defending the unborn has inspired a generation. Her posts, along with those of dozens of other Catholic creatives, have flooded my own feed this week: shots of vibrant community, joyful group photos, snippets of Marian consecration prayers and clips from talks by Cardinals. I could feel the sense of purpose behind the event emanating through the screen on my phone: not just to gather, but to commission. To pray, reflect and connect, and then go out and proclaim. I am sure the last few days will be ruminating in these digital missionaries’ minds, stirring them to ask how they can do better and more for God. Heck, I even wrote this article.

I, for one, feel heartened. In a time marked by confusion, isolation, and spiritual hunger, this movement feels like the breath of the Holy Spirit stirring through the internet. I know from personal experience that following faithful Catholic accounts has deepened my own spiritual life. From Bishop Barron’s Evangelisation & Culture Journal to reels on the liturgical calendar, I’ve been drawn closer to the richness of our faith through these modern “nets.”

As Pope Leo so beautifully put it, “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.”

May this Jubilee be a launch point for the word of God to spread like wildfire through our connected world. Hopefully, Catholic voices can be loud and clear, bringing Glory to God, the greatest influencer.