Vatican Hosts 1,000 Priests for Digital Evangelism Summit in Rome

The Vatican is hosting a digital evangelism summit in Rome, gathering over 1,000 clergy, friars, and digital communicators to explore modern outreach methods aimed at engaging younger audiences amid declining church attendance. Central to this initiative are several priests dubbed “hot priests” for their combination of religious messages and strong social media presences, including Father Giuseppe Fusari, a tattooed bodybuilder with over 60,000 Instagram followers; Father Cosimo Schena, with more than 450,000 followers who has seen his parish attendance double; and Father Ambrogio Mazza, a guitar-playing priest boasting over 460,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram. These priests use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to share spiritual content alongside personal interests such as fitness, poetry, and rescue dogs, attracting followers aged 25 to 55 and demonstrating social media’s potential to revitalize church engagement. The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication is organizing the summit to provide training on content production, digital ethics, and doctrine communication, continuing a digital strategy championed by Pope Francis. Experts emphasize that young Catholics experimenting with social media will be key drivers of the church’s future innovation in outreach, underscoring the importance of these influencers in promoting faith in a digital age.