Dive Deep into Digital Evangelization through the Media Apostle Masterclass
In July 2025, for the first time ever, the Church invited digital missionaries to a joyful Jubilee gathering in Rome as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope celebrations. This is a significant move by the Church in acknowledging that the digital spaces are essential places of encounter with the Gospel message. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church in her document On Social Communications (Inter Mirifica) has called all Catholics to utilize the media as tools for evangelization. And today’s digital influencers have taken up the call to boldly proclaim Christ on the various digital platforms. However, these very spaces present challenges to human interactions, relationships, and spiritual formation.
Some of the challenges of being present in digital environments are connected to the algorithms that keep our attention and the nature of the medium that is about forming one’s personal brand. I spoke to several digital evangelizers about these challenges. They tell me that though they may master the technology and art of storytelling, they can still find themselves subtly consumed by the manipulative nature of the algorithm. Many evangelizers are on fire with faith and want to share the Good News but the addictive nature of chasing after “likes” and “follows” can sometimes overshadow the act of proclamation. As a result, there is a need to dive deep into the theological and anthropological issues surrounding our evangelizing presence on these platforms.
Media Spirituality
The Daughters of St Paul have a charism that helps balance media experience with a profound media spirituality, rooted in the Word of God and the Eucharist, that follows the example of Saint Paul the Apostle, the Church’s greatest evangelizer and first media missionary. The depth of his intimacy with Christ fueled his use of the media of his day—speaking and writing letters—to proclaim Christ as the answer to all of humanity’s longings. This Pauline media spirituality situates the whole person—mind, will, and heart—in Christ the Master who is the Truth, Way, and Life for humanity.
Our use of every media then needs to be wholistic and touch the minds, wills, and hearts of those we encounter with the power and light of Christ. Recognizing that the medium communicates a message of itself and so being attentive to the power of that medium, calls us to carefully craft the message through a lived spirituality that incorporates critical engagement with discernment. The rapid pace of technology and the need to be constantly “on” sometimes makes this reflective use of media a challenge.
As Daughters of Saint Paul, we wish to share this media spirituality with digital missionaries. Part of our mission is to teach media literacy integrated within faith formation. We feel that there is a need to go deeper into the theology and spirituality of digital evangelization to help others become reflective engagers of the digital culture. Our specially crafted webinar series called the “Media Apostle Masterclass: Reflections on Digital Evangelization” answers the need for theological and spiritual formation of media evangelizers.
Media Apostle Webinar Series
Media Apostle Masterclass is a free monthly series that addresses various topics such as AI and the human person, Catholic identity in the public sphere, connection versus communion, digital restlessness, and the need for periodic media fasting. These 30-minute webinars are meant to dive deep into the why and how we engage as Catholics in the various digital spaces and what and how we communicate the message of Christ.
The webinar series is open to anyone interested in digital evangelization. Participants must register to receive the webinar link.
The response to the first webinar was extremely positive from over 100 participants hailing from more than twenty countries. One participant wrote: “I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the rest of the classes!”
After the live webinar, the series will be available on the Daughters of Saint Paul YouTube channel. These short classes can be used with various groups and the following discussion questions might help to guide further reflections on the topics:
- In what ways am I a media apostle?
- How can I grow in a media spirituality so that my evangelization remains authentic and Christ-centered?
Media Apostle Retreats
The Daughters of Saint Paul also offer Media Apostle Retreats two times a year, one in the Boston area in August and one in Malibu in January. These retreats help media professionals to hone their craft by developing a deep spiritual life that centers all their communicative activity in Christ the Master-Teacher. Registration is open now for the upcoming Malibu retreat.
All baptized Christians are called to be evangelizers wherever we find ourselves. We are disciples of Christ sent on a mission to communicate the Gospel to the world. The word apostle means “one who is sent.” We live in a digital culture and all of us use and create media in some way. If we consider our presence in the digital environments as opportunities for evangelization, then we are media apostles who can transform the digital culture for Christ. Let’s go forth and be wise missionaries in these digital spaces arming ourselves with a deep media spirituality that roots us in Scripture and the Eucharist using Saint Paul as our example of one who lived Christ and communicated Christ.
Image: Photo by John Lockwood on Unsplash
