Latest news with #Brescia
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Christianity is sexy now! How 'hot priest' influencers are drawing young people to the church in their droves
The face of Christianity is changing as a slew of handsome, fit priests are drawing new fans - and believers - over social media. Men of the cloth usually have a reputation for being serious and severe, with looks being the very last thing they would be worried about. But that's changing thanks to a new wave of 'priestfluencers' who are using social media to spread the Good News, and it certainly doesn't hurt that fans are finding them easy on the eyes. Religious leaders like Cosimo Schena, an Italian priest with a whopping 455,000 followers on Instagram, are reaching non-believers and devoted faithfuls alike with their social media content. Posts range in tone - from sermon-style videos to cheerful selfies, snaps with puppies and candid photos in church. In one of his latest uploads, he encourages supporters: 'When you feel transparent in the eyes of world, remember: God sees your every tear hidden, every gesture of love not reciprocated, every exhausting breath of breath. 'Your life is of infinite value in His eyes, You are never invisible to the ones who love you!' It's accompanies by a piece to camera - interlaced with glossily edited stock footage - of Cosimo getting his message across. Another European influencer, Father Giuseppe Fusari from Brescia, has more than 60,000 followers on the platform and is sometimes known as the 'bodybuilder priest'. He looks drastically different to the generic idea of what one may envisage, as he has numerous tattoos covering his large biceps, which he often shows off under short sleeve shirts. In a similar ilk, Don Ambrogio Mazzai - based in Verona - too has 105,000 followers on Instagram. Similar to his brethren, 'work' shots and videos of Biblical teachings are immersed with more 'hot' selfies, photos wearing leather jackets, playing guitar and cycling. And it's not just Catholicism that the trend pertains to - Anglican Reverend Chris Lee, who has been dubbed 'the hot priest' - who with 162,000 followers under his arm has been spreading the message of faith. The idea of 'hot priests' became especially popular after Fleabag, the highly popular 2016 TV series created by Phoebe Waller-Bridges, featured a plot line in which her character falls in love with a good-looking man of the cloth (played by Andrew Scott). He was known simply as 'hot priest' and became a phenomenon of its own accord, resulting in countless memes and videos of women posting about 'thirsting' after the character. The trope has also given rise to the trend of seeking out handsome religious leaders and posting about them on social media, as seen on TikTok. The increase in social media-savvy priests and religious influencers comes as the number of people who go to church regularly has steadily declined in recent years. In the 2021 Census for England and Wales, released by the Office for National Statistics, the Christian population fell below 50 per cent for the first time, making it a minority religion. But according to recent surveys by the Bible Society and YouGov, church attendance is climbing again, with young people in Roman Catholic communities leading the return to the pulpit. Those aged between 18 to 24 years old have shown a dramatic increase in interest when it comes to churchgoing, rising from just four per cent in 2018 to 16 per cent in 2024, according to the Bible Society's polling. The rise of priests and other religious leaders spreading the faith through social media is clearly important to the Vatican, as Rome will play host to a thousand digital missionaries and influencers from all over the world next week. According to The Telegraph, the meeting is being held to discuss the role of social media in the church and will take place on July 28 and 29 as part of the Vatican's jubilee year. All forms of social media, including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, and even apps and blogs, will be discussed in order to reach even more people and boost church attendance numbers. The late Pope Francis, who died in April this year, recognised the importance of the internet as a means of communicating with the masses and a valuable resource to the church. His own social media account on X, formerly Twitter, drew more than 18 million followers. In a message in 2019 for World Day of Social Communications, Pope Francis said that social networks 'help us to better connect, rediscover, and assist one another'. His predecessor, Pope Leo XIV, also has more than 18 million followers on the platform, as well as 14 million followers on Instagram, and his videos regularly gain tens of thousands of views and likes.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footballer's 14-month old son dies after short illness as club cancel pre-season training camp
Serie B footballer Matthias Verreth has returned to his home country of Belgium following the tragic death of his one-year-old son. After suffering relegation from the Italian second tier with Brescia last season, Verreth signed a three-year deal with Bari earlier this month. The 27-year-old had began pre-season preparations with his new club when tragedy struck. On Sunday, Verreth's 14-month-old son Elliot Charles died following a short-illness. The child had reportedly been hospitalised days earlier after suffering with virus-like symptoms. Bari's pre-season training camp was subsequently cancelled and Verreth was driven to the airport by club president Luigi De Laurentiis to travel back to Belgium, where he joined his partner and their three-year-old daughter in mourning. In a statement on the club's website, Bari expressed their condolences. It read: 'We are speechless and deeply shocked. We express our deepest condolences to Matthias Verreth and his family in one of the most terrible moments one can experience. 'President Luigi De Laurentiis, the technical staff, the entire team, the management and the red and white collaborators stand with Matthias and his family in one of the most terrible moments that a parent and a human being can experience. 'We ask all the fans to join Matthias in spirit and emotion, to his wife, to their firstborn daughter and to all their loved ones in this time of terrible grief.' A Belgian youth international, Verreth began his playing career in the Netherlands as part of PSV's famed youth academy. After spending more than a decade at the Eindhoven club and making a single Eredivisie appearance for the first team, the winger departed in 2019 to join Belgian side Waasland-Beveren. In 2022 Verreth joined Dutch second-tier side Willem II and in his second season at the Koning Stadion helped lead the club back to the top flight as champions.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Prominent Lawyer Among 2 Dead After Small Plane Crashes and Bursts into Fireball on Busy Highway
On Tuesday, July 22, an ultralight airplane piloted by 75-year-old Sergio Ravaglia crashed onto the pavement of Corda Molle in a hamlet in Azzano Mella, Brescia, before bursting into flames. The prominent lawyer from Milan and his 50-year-old partner, Anna Maria De Stefano, who was also on board, both died, local Italian outlets Giornale di Brescia, Corriere della Sera and Viral Press reported. When the plane struck the road, it hit two vehicles, resulting in the injury of two people, according to the Giornale di Brescia.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Plane crashes onto busy motorway exploding into a fireball
This is the horrifying moment a small plane nosedived and crashed into a busy motorway in Italy, leaving at least two people dead. Footage captured the moment the plane smashed into the road in Italy's Brescia province and exploded into a fireball, with vehicles forced to drive through the flames. The aircraft was completely destroyed, with no one on board surviving the accident. The pair killed were a 75-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman, according to reports. They are understood to have departed from the town of Gragnano Trebbiense. Two motorists were reportedly injured when the plane exploded and were treated at a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. An inferno ripped through the site of the crash, leading to the suspension of traffic on the A21 motorway junction between Corda Molle and Ospitale. Emergency services rushed to the scene, while firefighters contained the blaze. An investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor's office of Brescia has opened a case for manslaughter, local newspaper Giornale di Brescia reported. The horrific accident comes just days after an air force fighter jet crashed into a school in Bangladesh and killed 31 people, at least 25 of them children. The children, many aged under 12, were about to return home from class on Monday when the Chinese-manufactured F-7 BGI Bangladesh Air Force jet ploughed into their school in Dhaka and burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and debris. The military said it had suffered mechanical failure. Television footage showed fire and smoke billowing from the site of the crash as bystanders are seen trying to put out the flames. Other clips circulating on social media show crowds of students fleeing from the scene in a panic. It also comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in neighbouring India's Ahmedabad city, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, marking the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. A preliminary report into the crash found that fuel switches for the engines of the doomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust and sink down moments after setting off to London from the Indian city on June 12.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Horrifying moment plane nosedives and crashes into a motorway with cars driving through fireball aftermath in Italy
At least two people were killed today when a small jet nosedived and crashed into a busy motorway in northern Italy. Footage captured the horrifying moment in which the plane smashed into the road in Italy's Brescia province and exploded into a fireball, with vehicles forced to drive over the flames following the sudden crash. The aircraft was completely destroyed, with no one on board surviving the accident. The pair killed were a 75-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman, according to reports. They are understood to have departed from the town of Gragnano Trebbiense. Two motorists were reportedly injured when the plane exploded and were treated at a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. An inferno ripped through the site of the crash, leading to the suspension of traffic on the A21 motorway junction between Corda Molle and Ospitale. Emergency services rushed to the scene, while firefighters contained the blaze. An investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the public prosecutor's office of Brescia has opened a case for manslaughter following, local newspaper Giornale di Brescia reported. The horrific accident comes just days after an air force fighter jet crashed into a school in Bangladesh and killed 31 people, at least 25 of them children. The children, many aged under 12, were about to return home from class on Monday when the Chinese-manufactured F-7 BGI Bangladesh Air Force jet ploughed into their school in Dhaka and burst into flames, trapping pupils in the fire and debris. The military said it had suffered mechanical failure. Television footage showed fire and smoke billowing from the site of the crash as bystander are seeing trying put out the flames. Other clips circulating on social media show crowds of students fleeing from the scene in a panic. It also comes a little over a month after an Air India plane crashed on top of a medical college hostel in neighbouring India's Ahmedabad city, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 on the ground, marking the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. A preliminary report into the crash found that fuel switches for the engines of the doomed Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust and sink down moments after setting of to London from the Indian city on June 12. In the flight's final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. 'The other pilot responded that he did not do so,' the report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said. It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot immediately transmitted the distress call: 'Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' Seconds later the jet began losing height and exploded into a fireball after smashing into a hostel on the ground in Gujarat, claiming the lives of all but one passenger on board and 19 people on the ground.
