The Volunteers at the Jubilee of Rome
Social Media and the Jubilee
It is common to imagine the Church as an old fashion institution, where things are written on paper and speeches are delivered in Latin. It is common to label it as an institution frozen in the medieval age, where everything previously lead to prayers and the forgiving of sins.
In 2012, something changed. Pope Benedict XVI opened a twitter account and started sharing his thoughts via tweets. It was something quite surprising but it showed how the Church, in order to follow its worshippers, was moving towards a modern approach.
This innovation spread quite easily and now, more than 25 million people follow the Pope's account. His tweets are published in nine languages: from Latin to Arabic, Italian to English.
Nowadays, we live in a society in which it is common practice to own a smartphone along with a Twitter and Facebook account. Social Medias, in many countries, are the most popular way to acquire and share information and this is why they have been included for the first time in the Jubilee.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, during a briefing before the opening of the Jubilee, pointed out how important the Internet is for these kind of events, as it can connect and include worshippers from all over the world. Additionally, the website is translated into seven languages. It gives every pilgrim the chance to register to walk through the Saint Door and to read information about coming to Rome, including where to stay and where to have a meal.
Worshippers are also using Social Media to share and document the Jubilee. Looking at the hastag ‘#jubileeofmercy’, there are many videos and pictures not only of the opening of the Saint Door in Saint Peter’s Church, but of doors opened all over the world. One example is the video showing the opening of the Saint Door at the Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola in which it is possible to understand that the video has been filmed by a person who attended the ceremony.
The priest Antonio Spadaro has recently published a book titled, “Quando la fede diventa social”(When faith becomes social). He notes how the Pope is using social media to be closer to our society, a society that is always in a hurry. He sustains that even more important is the fact that after reading just 140 characters (maximum) people retweet it, making the message even more valuable. Spadaro explains that the aim of the Church is to be where the worshippers are.
Social Media is not an aseptic place, as many people imagine, it is a place where people create a community and share their religious thoughts. He concludes by saying that with the aide of Social Media, everyone has the chance to share their experience of mercy, a crucial concept of this Jubilee.
It is interesting to find out how Social Media is having a massive impact even in such an old institution such as the Church. Did you ever expect that?
