Vatican turns to ‘hot priests' to spread faith in the digital age

Telegraph

2 days ago

If it weren't for the dog collar, the robes and occasional background of a church, one would be forgiven for thinking, judging by his Instagram profile, that Father Ambrogio Mazzai was a fitness influencer rather than a man of faith.
Pictures of him playing the guitar or biking in the mountains have animated a following who are presumably just as interested in the good word as they are in his good looks.
'What a beautiful guy our Father is!' wrote one follower on Father Mazzai's account. 'You are very beautiful and very elegant!' said another.
While some puritans might sniff at the idea that religion needs to be made cool to have modern appeal, a group of priests including Father Mazzai are using social media to make a powerful case to the contrary.
He shares photos and videos with his 460,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram almost every day and counts Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister, among his fans.
'It started by chance in 2021 on the suggestion of a young man in my parish. I didn't think it was a good idea,' said Father Mazzai. 'I never imagined that it could have such a big impact.'
Next week, a thousand digital missionaries and influencers from around the world will meet in Rome (July 28-29) to discuss the role of social media in the church as part of the Vatican's jubilee year.
The missionaries will look at TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, apps and blogs, and how social media can promote outreach and ensure the survival of a church suffering from declining numbers.
Francis X Rocca, the Vatican editor of EWTN News, said social media is vital for the church's future and stressed that young Catholics would continue to drive change.
'It's not going to be the Vatican office of communications or some diocese that is going to generate the most innovation in this area,' he said.
'But there are a lot of young people, some of whom are coming to Rome, who are experimenting and they will be the vanguard.'
It was Pope Francis who saw social media as an essential communication tool and made it a priority for the church in the 21st century. In 2020 alone, the late pope's social media content was viewed over 27 billion times.
His successor Pope Leo XIV, an avid user of social media, has 14 million Instagram followers and more than 52 million followers across nine languages on his @Pontifex X account.
Yet, for other members of the clergy whose names don't carry the same star power, a handsome photo goes a long way.
Father Giuseppe Fusari is a rugged-looking 58-year old priest in the northern city of Brescia with a bulging set of muscles and 60,000 followers on Instagram.
Dubbed 'the bodybuilder priest', Father Fusari gets his fair share of love heart emojis – and compliments about his sermons.
He said most of his followers were aged between 25 and 55, and many were disillusioned with religion.
'I hope it will bring people closer to the church, there is a lot of curiosity and I am convinced that social media is one way to attract people,' he said.
Although some priests have had pushback from their superiors against publishing photos of them at the beach or the gym and have their fair share of critics, the response from other church members has been largely positive, those interviewed for this article said.
It's even opened debate about whether today's fashion can exist with the church's traditional conservatism.
One follower of Father Fusari asks: 'Without any judgment, aren't you against tattoos? I have one, I really regret having done it 30 years ago, because the Lord said 'you shall not tattoo your skin'.... What do you think? God bless you.'
Father Fusari replies: 'There's no dogma, I'm sorry. And it's no different: the church has never spoken out against tattoos, neither with documents nor with dogmas. But you're free to think as you wish.'
While there's no official data yet on whether the online push has translated to church visitor numbers, Father Cosimo Schena from the San Francesco parish in Brindisi, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera the numbers in his church had doubled since he started using Facebook and TikTok.