Greetings from Rome!
The city is very much alive with pilgrims from all over the world. It’s been full and beautiful (and hot!) days of learning, sharing, celebrating, and mission. The Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, a fruit of the Synod on Synodality, took place on July 28-29. Over 1,100 people from 53 countries participated in this event at Auditorium Conciliazione. Some talks were available for online participation. It was beautiful to meet people who knew us both personally and online, but also knew of our communities and other branches of the Pauline Family in Italy, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, the Philippines, Korea, Malaysia, India, Mozambique, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Poland, Spain, Australia–all over! They recognized the contribution of the Paulines in the area of communication.
The first day consisted of talks and synodal group sharing. And the second, prayer and pilgrimage. The group reflections will be used to formulate a proposal for Pope Leo as a next step. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, gave the opening address, and Msgr. Lucio Ruiz, Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, welcomed the digital missionaries and Catholic influencers. We also heard from Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization. The talks were inspiring, encouraging, and thought-provoking. Here is the link to the Jubilee site https://www.digitalismissio.org/. You can view the schedule for the list of speakers, prayers, and activities. If you are interested in any of the talks, you can watch the live stream of day one here.
Several things struck us. These are a few:
Silence and Listening: We were struck by how many speakers emphasized the importance of silence and listening when communicating in digital spaces. In different ways, they invited us to listen and discover where God is already at work, to discern, and amplify God’s work. Effective online evangelization is born of silence.
On Fire for God: Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ, spoke beautifully about entering the digital space with hearts on fire for God, and not the fire of our own ego. He spoke strongly and with enthusiasm about the heart with which we are to evangelize as digital missionaries online. As creators, we are always to put the Lord at the center of all that we do and let his light shine through us and through our content. Because if the light comes only from us, it will not do any good.
Authenticity: We were also struck by the number of times that we talked about authenticity. The witness of authenticity was a key element of this Jubilee. We are to be fully ourselves and fully alive in Christ. And when we do this, it is evangelistic in its nature. When people experience a totally authentic life lived for love of God, it is, in a sense, contagious.
Division and Polarization: Mons. Ruiz called for unity and communion on our platforms. He reminded us of the serious consequences of division and polarization. Speaking of divisive posts that generate followers, he said, “We may have won, but the Church is divided. We may have won, but God has lost.”
“Mend the Net”
A highlight of the second day was the Mass at St. Peter’s presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Pope Leo XIV’s visit after Mass was a surprise. We were thrilled to meet him and receive his invitation to “mend the net.”
Consecration of Digital Projects to Mary
At the end of the second day, the Jubilee participants consecrated their digital projects to Mary at the grotto in the Vatican Gardens. We couldn’t help but think of our Founder and how he taught us to consecrate ourselves and the means of communication to God. We prayed for you and our apostolic initiatives.
The reflection at the grotto proposed 4 points that capture the heart and spirit of a digital missionary. They sound Pauline.
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Humility as an attitude
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Communion as a duty
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Dynamism as style (open to the risks the Holy Spirit is inviting us to take and go in trust)
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Creativity as a challenge (the need to read the signs of the times and develop new language)
We have been so blessed by this opportunity to be part of this special event for digital evangelizers. This experience prompted us to ask ourselves how we, as Daughters of St. Paul, can propose our Pauline spirituality to digital missionaries and creators today.
Image credit: Photo by Kai Pilger