Washington, D.C. , September 15, 2015: The Catholic Church in the US has launcheda mobile app to draw their flock even closer together.
The pioneering app -- USA Catholic Church--. brings together information from all Catholic sources: parishes, dioceses, the U.S. bishops and even the Vatican. Not only will the app include religious news, daily scripture readings and local parish content, it will feature exclusive, in-depth coverage of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the United States.
Early responses have been positive, but users have complained that it is mostly only about the Pope. However the model will appeal to the Church in large geographies like India where numerous Catholic associations are challenged by logistics to network and cooperate, and look for a tool to overcome languaged barriers.
“This is the most comprehensive virtual connection to the Catholic faith available,” explains Bishop Christopher Coyne, chair elect of the Committee on Communications, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which created the app. “We understand many people are looking for more ways to connect with the Church and incorporate Catholic living into their busy lives—that’s exactly what this app is designed to do.”
App content is available in both English and Spanish and lets users:
• Follow Pope Francis with the latest news and communications, including videos and photos.
• Access unique mobile features: view daily readings, make mobile donations, receive news alerts, get Vatican and Catholic News Service updates, and have the ability to share via social media.
Additionally, the USA Catholic Church app will offer up-to-the minute coverage of Pope Francis addressing a joint meeting of Congress and the United Nations, as well as the public at the World Meeting of Families. The Pope will visit the United States from September 22-27, 2015.
In October, new parish and diocese functionality will be released, allowing users to:
• Stay in contact with local dioceses and parishes through individual pages with mass and confession times, homilies, events, blog posts, videos and bulletins, and locate local parishes at home or when traveling with a “Church Finder” tool that works by location, city, state or ZIP code.
The USA Catholic Church app is free to download from your smartphone or tablet device at Google Play, Apple iTunes or www.USACatholic.church. It is available in English and Spanish.