Latest news with #CosimoSchena
NDTV
30-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
"Hot Priests": Vatican's Latest Campaign To Spread Faith Among GenZ
The Vatican City is turning to social media-savvy "hot priests" to draw younger generations back to the church. As part of this push, over 1,000 young priests and friars with strong online followings were invited to Rome this week. Among them is Father Ambrogio Mazzai, who has over 105,000 followers on Instagram. He regularly shares glimpses of his life doing fun activities such as playing guitar or biking in the mountains. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Don Ambrogio Mazzai (@ Then comes Father Cosimo Schena, whose Instagram feed resembles that of a fitness influencer. He boasts over 457,000 followers and shares spiritual messages through an engaging online persona. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Don Cosimo Schena (@doncosimoschena) Also attending is Father Giuseppe Fusari, a 58-year-old priest from Brescia and a bodybuilder with more than 63K Instagram followers. Known for posting pictures of his tattooed biceps along with spiritual reflections. Social media, in his opinion, is an effective instrument "to bring people closer to the Church." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giuseppe Fusari (@ He told The Telegraph, "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." Even though there are ancient Gospels, if you want to reach people today, especially the younger generation, you have to come up with modern ways, like social media. Pope Leo XIV realises the importance of using modern technology to communicate with people. He has 14 million followers on X, where he regularly shares messages of peace and faith About 1,000 digital missionaries and influencers, including Priests, nuns and other Church members who have strong social media presence, were invited to Rome this week as part of the Vatican's Jubilee Year. They discussed the ways to use social media to spread religious messages by attracting the younger generation. This is not the first time the Church has used aesthetics in order to get people's attention and spread its message. Earlier in 2022, there was a calendar featuring hot Roman priests. This grabbed headlines, leading to the sale of more than 75,000 copies every year, according to The NY Post.
Daily Mail
28-07-2025
- 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.
New York Post
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Vatican to host ‘hot priests' influencers who spread word of God to younger faithful as numbers slump
They're hot under the collar. The Vatican is set to host influencers and missionaries to discuss spreading the church's message through social media — and is looking for help from some 'hot priests' who are turning heads with their bountiful internet followings. Over 1,000 priests and friars will flock to Rome on Monday to advance efforts to reach the younger generation of would-be worshippers as congregations decline — with some ungodly good-looking priests who are already doing the Lord's work set to attend, The Telegraph reported Saturday. Advertisement One of them is Father Giuseppe Fusari, a bodybuilding silver fox from Brescia, Italy, who has more than 60,000 Instagram followers on Instagram, some of whom are thirsty for more than just communion wine. '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,' the tattooed Fusari told the outlet. 5 Father Giuseppe Fusari has amassed a following as broad as his chest on social media, a pulpit where the 58-year-old spreads the Gospel, his reflections on life and beefy pics. Giuseppe Fusari/Instagram Advertisement 5 The bodybuilding 58-year-old regularly flexes his tattooed biceps on Instagram. Giuseppe Fusari/Instagram The 58-year-old uses his large online pulpit to not only flex his tattooed biceps and toned chest — but also spread the Gospel and share personal reflections on life. Most of his followers are between the ages of 25 and 55, according to the Telegraph. The ruggedly handsome Father Cosimo Schena, Italy's 'most beloved' priest, has seen his flock double in size since he started posting on TikTok and Instagram, the British outlet reported. Advertisement 5 Father Cosimo Schena, 46, has become Italy's 'most beloved' priest after years of posting positive messages on social media. doncosimoschena/Instagram The 46-year-old from Brindisi, Italy, boasts over 454,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts tons of photos of himself flashing his pearly whites and manicured beard. Schena also regularly posts photos with his rescue beagle Storm and advocates for his fellow Italians to adopt pets from local shelters. Offering a softer palate for clergy admirers is Father Ambrogio Mazza. Advertisement 5 Father Ambrogio Mazza, 34, shows off both his active lifestyle and his priestly duties on social media. Don Ambrogio Mazzai, /Instagram Mazza, 34, is a guitar-playing, bike-riding poet who gives his more than 460,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok glimpses of his life as a priest. The dashing clergyman shares tons of selfies and snaps of himself conducting his priestly duties — much to the delight of online admirers. 'What a beautiful guy our Father is,' one follower wrote, according to the Telegraph. 5 The strikingly handsome man of God regularly posts selfies online, much to the approval of online admirers. Don Ambrogio Mazzai, /Instagram 'You are very beautiful and elegant,' another chimed in. These vow-testingly attractive priests are at the vanguard of the Catholic Church's social media mission laid out by the late Pope Francis and continued by his successor, Pope Leo XIV. Advertisement Since taking office, Pope Leo has made regular use of social media apps such as X to spread the Catholic message to his nearly 19 million followers. The Vatican has previously attempted to turn attractive priests into community outreach — setting pulses racing with a calendar of gorgeous men of God back in 2022.
