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Work Your Values is a podcast that explores the deeper meaning behind our professional lives, where everyday work becomes a path to purpose and our true calling. Through candid conversations and storytelling, Sunday to Sunday's Frank Connelly reveals how values like dignity, justice, and service shape the way we lead, live—and inspire others.
Hey, everyone. This is Frank Connolly, the CMO of Sunday to Sunday Productions, and welcome to the Work Your Values podcast. Today, our episode is New Catholic Digital Missionaries. It's a really exciting topic that I've been waiting and compiling this episode for some time, so thanks for your patience, everyone. There is a new wave of Catholic digital missionaries on the rise, on social media, and more importantly, in real life.
Speaker 1:Priests, sisters, lay Catholics, converts, moms, dads, artists, creators, podcasters and film producers like myself, thoughtful Catholic voices are showing up in the digital public square with an attentive heart, a clarity of message, conviction, and really courage. This is about people who are helping others rediscover everything from prayer to the sacraments, Catholic thinking, spiritual discipline, beauty, moral seriousness, and the reality that the church is not just some relic, it's alive. It has, as Gen Z says, aura. Is intellectually serious. It is sacramental.
Speaker 1:It's communal. And it still answers the deepest questions of the human person. It is, in fact, the way. And across a number of dioceses, the church is reporting sharp increases in adults entering and returning to Catholic life. In 2025, the National Catholic Register reported major year over year increases in several dioceses, including my own, Los Angeles, and Portland to our north.
Speaker 1:And in March 2026, the Archdiocese of San Antonio said nearly 160,000 adult Americans were projected to enter the Catholic church this year. This is the type of numbers that we haven't seen since the start of the century. Maybe I'm biased, but there is a very significant reason for that, and it has to do with the power of the digital to bring people into the real, that authentic inspiration that leads to authentic encounter and activation. Now, it's too simplistic to say that, okay, well, you know, social media started all that and grace is not an algorithm. But the Holy Spirit does work through all means that it can to spread the word.
Speaker 1:I mean, we have to look at the very first social media influencer. Who would that be? Would it be our new saint, Fulton Sheen? No. He also, even though we are standing on his shoulders, a giant, he was standing on shoulders of many who came before him, including the very first, St.
Speaker 1:Paul the Apostle. Yeah. I mean, he was in fact a tireless community builder and creating social media through his pen and paper and letters and engagement. And honestly, the Church has always, and the Holy Spirit has always operated through people to spread the most unlikely of stories to ever reach the entire world the way it has, the story of Jesus and the Gospels. Catholic media creators and Catholic witness in digital spaces are now part of the ecology through which many people find their first encounter or revisit and start to reduce the barriers that may have been keeping them away from the church.
Speaker 1:Because not being able to find the voice that speaks to you, the informed voice that speaks just to you, that one person. Publioz XIV has spoken directly to this reality. Last summer, 07/29/2025, Publio addressed the Catholic Digital Missionaries at the youth conference at St. Peter's Basilica. Now, he didn't dismiss digital evangelization as some shallow or secondary form of preaching.
Speaker 1:He affirmed it as a real field of mission. This idea of the Catholic Digital Missionary is as real as the bushwhacking days of bringing the word to people on parts of the globe that had never heard it before. He told them that the church entrusts them to a mission to nourish Christian hope in social networks and online spaces. He said, Peace and hope in the Gospel must be sought, proclaimed, and shared in, quote, empty hearts that have lost meaning and the desire for spiritual life. This is an extraordinary frame, and what a call to action to all of us who are actually in it, but more importantly, those who are thinking about getting in it or finding their voice, or maybe they have a very defined voice and they're finding their audience.
Speaker 1:The Pope says, Digital culture must remain human. This is sort of the caveat to, Okay, well it is the digital space, but it is very parasocial in a lot of ways. So he says our mission is to nurture a culture of Christian humanism. And I'm going to get into humanism in future episodes, particularly as it relates to sort of the dangers that we're in right now. I mean, given that this is the Work Your Values podcast, and I'm now talking to people who may be looking for another job because of AI and sort of the fears that a lot of people have that they may be replaced, particularly if we're listening to tech demagogues.
Speaker 1:But I digress, that's for the future. But Christian humanism is something we're really going have a central theme this year. The Pope warned in effect that in an age shaped by technology and increasing artificial intelligence, the question is not whether we can speak online, but whether our witness is authentic, whether we can really truly listen, and whether we can understand and be understood. So it's sort of rather than just listening to the broadcast, are you creating an actual community? And that line comes as a kind of examine for all of us in the Catholic creator space.
Speaker 1:Are there these avenues where we're reaching our audience and our audience can have an authentic connection with either us, because there's only one us. I mean, there might be one of you as a creator, but you can create a community where they can engage with one another. So it's not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts. And that's the idea of building the attentive heart. So we're not just creating content, we're creating encounters.
Speaker 1:We're not just trying to create reach, we're reaching but to form relationship. We're not just trying to gain attention, We use that attention to build community. And we're not just performance and analytic based, which I'm going get it to here in a minute, but we're true witnesses. And this is where Pope Leo's teaching becomes important for the current moment because as Catholic digital missionaries, our job is to succeed precisely when we refuse to be a captive to the logic of a platform that is really not designed for us if you really think about it. But it can be used for that.
Speaker 1:It's a tool, right? So there is a temptation, pun intended, in Catholic media to confuse visibility with fruitfulness. And all the analytics are designed to give you indications of visibility. But there are ways of taking those analytics and finding the evidence of actual community and actual encounter and strategies that can be used to sort of not only just measure these things but activate them. So if likes and comments spike and follower accounts grow, it can feel like the mission is happening.
Speaker 1:Sometimes that is, but not always. We have to be careful of that. The Vatican twenty twenty three pastoral reflection on social media warned that platforms often shape people around belonging, affirmation. And like I said, these platforms are really designed for commercial incentives, which I worked in that world and still do. So you have to be aware of that.
Speaker 1:It explicitly warns that social platforms have helped transform users into consumers. We have to not treat the people that we are actually creating and providing spiritual nourishment, that they are in fact consumers. We're providing spiritual guidance. We have to be very careful, especially if we're in laity, but even priests and nuns and deacons have to be very aware that they are elevated in the perception of Catholics and maybe even returning Catholics. And so we have to be very careful.
Speaker 1:Pope Lear's answer to this 2023, which was really what we had to go off of that pastoral reflection, his answer was not a withdrawal. It's actually a deeper incarnation and call to action to all of us. He says that we must look for the, quote, suffering flesh of Christ, end of quote, in every brother and sister we encounter online. That means the person on the other side of the screen is not a metric, they're more a demographic. They're a person, they're a soul, someone that deserves to be loved by God and is loved by God and needs to be loved by us as an encounter so that they may encounter Christ in the world through us and really us through them.
Speaker 1:So that means that the best Catholic digital missionaries are not simply those who know how to hold the attention. They're the ones that know how to direct attention toward Christ. And that can come in a lot of different ways, but it really usually comes in some real world application, which is the more challenging bridge because most of what we do online is designed to lead to a digital product, for example. It can be helpful, of course. Reading a book can be great.
Speaker 1:But think about things like what if I created a book club around that book and allowed people to be able to have the opportunity to interact in real life or actually socially, not parasocially. We don't really typically know the people that we're speaking to, especially if they're large numbers online. So why this moment we're in right now is different. What makes now distinct is that this new Catholic digital wave is not operating only at the level of religious information. It's speaking to modern challenges and pains and everyday ism.
Speaker 1:People are really tired of being fragmented. They're tired of being divided. They're tired of not being able to trust the media in general or what they're hearing. They're tired of being treated like some algorithmic identity. Really, have created the most through social media, we have created the most disconnected society that I think the world has ever seen.
Speaker 1:And from the words of one of my mentors, that relationship poverty is the root of all poverty. Think about that for a minute, especially as Catholics. The root of all poverty starts with relationship poverty. And that's where we're being called. As digital missionaries, we are called to being able to foster real relationship, as the Pope says, actual encounters.
Speaker 1:And Catholicism, when presented clearly and beautifully, offers something radically different, radical compassion, a really coherent vision of the human person disciplined through spiritual life, which people are yearning for structure in their lives right now. It's ancient. It has that aura, but it's living in its intellectual tradition, that's very appealing too to especially young people who are trying to mentally get their head around what is God, what is spiritual. And Catholicism satisfies like no other. Look at St.
Speaker 1:Augustine's Confessions and the Gospels themselves and what Christ has been saying. It's a sacramental universe that we live in, There's moral seriousness to the world that we're living in right now, especially in the direction that we're going, no matter when you're listening to this podcast. It's a community that's bigger than itself. As Catholics, we're part of something that is universal in name, but in actuality. So this is actually very attractive, especially when people discover that the endless scrolling and the endless pursuit of consumption is never going to answer ultimate questions for them.
Speaker 1:Recent data has also suggested that younger adults are showing a renewed religious engagement. A 2025 Barna study reported that Gen Z now leads older generations in church attendance. Think about that. When was the last time you saw that? Particularly in frequency.
Speaker 1:Catholic media coverage this year has tied that trend to renewed evangelization efforts, including digital outreach that bring people back to the pews. Now I have some articles, three articles in fact, on Medium, if you're interested in looking at that. And particularly, I think the third one is the one where I make the case of how digital media can reveal the fingerprints of the Holy Spirit and how, I think in episode two of that triptych article set, the second article, I talk about how digital media is actually going to bring people back to the pews. So always been thinking that it was driving away. It did for a while, but now it's actually the conduit back to the pews where the Eucharist lives, where you cannot digitally replace the substance the carnal substance of Christ on earth in communion with him.
Speaker 1:These are real signs that digital witness is helping put people back on the road to parish life, to confession, OCIA, discernment, and deeper formation, and maybe even some of them, hopefully, God willing, exploring the vocations themselves as a deacon, as a priest, as a nun. Hey, everybody. Let's take a quick break. This episode is brought to you by Sunday to Sunday Productions, a media ministry founded by the late Father Mike Russo. If you're an up and coming Catholic Digital Missionary with a defined voice, a clear message, and an audience, you are already serving faithfully.
Speaker 1:Sunday to Sunday wants to hear from you. That's right. We are especially interested in Catholic creators, ministers, and missions who already have spent enough time in the work to know the ropes, so to understand that level of commitment that it takes, and are showing signs of real staying power, not just a moment of traction, but evidence of of mission that you're delivering. And we're not talking about numbers. I don't wanna get caught up in that because that really isn't just like I've been saying in in other episodes, these are not about numbers, but it's about witness.
Speaker 1:And and maybe you're having difficulty with that transition. Well, we're here for you. We're not just talking about content. We're talking about connection, and we can help you with both. So Sunday to Sunday supports Catholic Digital Missionaries through stronger media production, quality, thoughtful growth strategies rooted in an authentic community and formation, that building of the attentive heart, which is common to everything that we do, and high level distribution designed to help your good work reach the people who need it the most.
Speaker 1:Right? Exactly as the pope said. If that sounds like you, please reach out to us at Sunday to Sunday productions. You can find my personal email in the, show notes. And let's talk about how to strengthen your message, your media, and your mission.
Speaker 1:There's no cost to you, foremost. If we select you, you will be, under the father Mike Russo scholarship for, the training and growth of your mission. So this is just for you. If you're hearing this message, you know who you are. Give us a call.
Speaker 1:Authentic Catholic digital mission work looks like. And this is great, isn't it? I mean, this episode is clearly for creators, but if you're a consumer of Catholic ministry material and content like I am in my work, I have to be, And I see the stuff that's really good. I see the stuff that needs improvement. And I see the stuff that's really off.
Speaker 1:They're not doing it for the right reasons. So you have to be discerning about what nutrients you're taking in from the Catholic Digital Mission space. What does an authentic Catholic Digital Mission look like now? Well, it looks like creators who know what their goal is not to just be internet famous Catholics, which can be challenging because once you have that many people, you suddenly feel like, Wow, I've got a voice, and with voice comes power, and with power can come some very inauthentic, not very Catholic, not very Christian things, and deadly sins in fact. But faithful Catholics, true faithful Catholics use the internet in service of evangelization.
Speaker 1:Also good mission work looks like content that drives towards confession, towards the Eucharist, toward parish life, toward real world small groups, vocations, discernment, direction, actual works of mercy in their community, actual friendship, encounter, invites encounter in the world. These are the things that really you should be looking as hallmarks of good mission work and not just content for the sake of content. We see a lot of that. It just seems like the goal is just to get you to come back to the next episode. Certainly formation is important, but there's some point where at the end of Mass we're told to go out into the world.
Speaker 1:Good mission work should do the same. Particularly in priests, sisters, deacons, their digital presence should match their real life witness. And for lay Catholics, theirs should similarly match and be informed to their own life, and both understanding the beauty and the discipline that comes from being a Catholic. It also resembles communications where the speaker is using their own native language and digital culture without surrendering it to any sort of distortion. Authenticity, really.
Speaker 1:I think diversity and authenticity, there's enough voices out there that doesn't need to speak to everybody. Speak to those from where you come, because they're the ones that are most informed. You are the one that is most informed for them to hear, to land on, and they will be receptive because they feel you understand them, you get them, and you do. So that in fact, all of what I've just said, is consistent with the Vatican's broader digital teaching, which insists that social media should foster meaningful relationships and a culture of neighborhoodliness that is very distinct from the divisive practices of the world and the division that a lot of social media actually creates and not just passive consumption or self display. So in other words, the real test of Catholic Digital Missionaries is not, Did people watch?
Speaker 1:It's more, Did I move them? And how can I find the ways of moving them? Number one, strategically. And two, what is the evidence of you moving them? Moving them toward what?
Speaker 1:Well, prayer. That's an easy one. There's a lot of that out there. Okay. That's fine.
Speaker 1:Toward truth, towards friendship and authentic encounters. I think that's probably the biggest deficit that I see right now is that most of the content that's out there is very one on one, that I'm engaged in my prayer app and it's me and the content. Even though a lot of them have, you can join your parish group and things, but there's not really a lot of interaction there other than saying, Okay, I've got other people in my parish doing the same thing that I am, which is I'm praying with this content. Not that I'm saying it's not good. I'm just saying maybe there's higher levels that you can attain toward friendship, toward the sacraments, towards going back to church, toward the vocation, and ultimately towards Christ.
Speaker 1:And where do we find Christ? As the Pope said, we find those in the most broken of the world. We find Christ in the rubble, as they say, as he says. Okay, so yes, there is a new wave of Catholic digital missionaries, and yes, they matter. We matter.
Speaker 1:But our importance is not that we've learned to play the platform game. Our importance is that at our best, we're helping reopen the path from digital contact to real world encounter, from curiosities and leading to convictions, from spectatorship to discipleship. Publius XIV has made the standard clear. The task is not merely to generate content, but let's create ways of encountering hearts. That's very demanding.
Speaker 1:It's also the right one. And if we're actually going to do this for the right reasons, we have to be leaning into that all the time and be looking at ourselves and reflection and saying, is the content that I've just created as a podcast, as a film, as a meme, as newsletter, are these things what's behind what we are producing, is there something more enduring that we're creating? Are people looking at what we create for meaning, for truth, relevance, belonging, mission, holiness? So in our next episode, we're going to step back and we're going to look at the history of Catholic media itself. It's something that I've done talks on and I'm really quite passionate about because we really start to realize that the reason that the church continued to persist for two thousand years is because we always have been using whatever available means and media and technology to continue to push evangelism out to the furthest edges of the world, the real bleeding edges of the world, and to, like missions did at that time before Internet and before the ability to even reliably write a letter, you'd camp out there.
Speaker 1:That's how you reduce the margins. How do you reduce the margins? Go to the margins, as Father Greg Boyle says. And when you go there and you stay there with those people, then you become them, they become you, and that is where we find Christ. So, you know, before the age of platforms, before broadcasting, before digital networks, You know, there was Paul.
Speaker 1:I'll go back to him, and that was where we'll start on the next episode. Traveling, writing, persuading, building communities, following up with communities, defending communities, running back to meet with Peter to make sure that he was on track, and this is what we were actually going to start, like evangelizing to the Gentiles? Yes, evangelize to the Gentiles. He went back out and he started evangelizing to the Gentiles. That shaped a church across a distance through message, relationship, and mission.
Speaker 1:And in many ways, this remains the same model. All right. Thanks for listening to Work Your Values from Sunday to Sunday Productions. If this episode resonated with you, I want you to please get in touch, share it with someone who's thinking seriously about Digital Mission work, Catholic media, or just the future of evangelization. Okay, until next time, I am Frank Connolly, and please get out there and keep working your values.