As a Catholic youth minister, Angie Bosio enjoys inspiring and educating others in the faith. So when her Facebook followers began expressing interest in purchasing her hobby illustrations of Catholic saints or scenes from daily Bible readings, she launched a website and then an Instagram page.
Still, when the 51-year-old Nashville resident was invited by the Vatican to attend a gathering of Catholic influencers in Rome this summer, it caught Bosio by surprise because she barely had 600 followers.
“The Vatican is definitely trying to reach out, to bring everyone under the tent,” Bosio said. “They’re acknowledging that this is a space that’s not optional. We need to evangelize, and this is a space that people are occupying and we need to bring our Catholic culture into that space.”
The Catholic Church isn’t alone among faith groups in having recognized social media’s potential for proselytizing. Evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham and Paula White-Cain have taken to YouTube to share sermons and teachings. The Dalai Lama has advocated digital outreach among Buddhist monks, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints posts words of inspiration and adherents’ personal testimonies for its 1.4 million Instagram followers.
But the Vatican’s event in Rome illustrated how the Catholic Church as an institution is unique among major religions in embracing unofficial Catholic voices like Bosio’s on social media platforms, aiming to harness the abilities of so-called “digital missionaries” to help lead the global institution into the future.
Heidi Campbell, a professor of communication at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, said the Church’s hierarchical authority structure makes it singularly positioned to formally recognize Catholic content creators in hopes of guiding their work on behalf of the faith.
“That kind of approval and advocacy I haven’t seen,” said Campbell, who is part of a group working to incorporate ideas springing from this summer’s gathering to present to the Vatican. “They’re saying, this is not just a fringe thing – how do we cultivate this and encourage it?”
Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves a Mass over which he presided in Rome’s Tor Vergata district as part of the Jubilee of Youth on August 3, 2025. Pope Leo XIV presided over a final mass in Rome for over one million young people, the culmination of a youth pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world.
Brett Robinson, associate director for outreach at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life in South Bend, Indiana, said the Church is learning to listen to lay people whose social media voices can have an evangelizing effect.
“The decline in institutional trust across the board and the rise in social media has shifted the center of gravity to unofficial voices who often seem more authentic and transparent,” Robinson said.
On July 29, Bosio was among more than a thousand global Catholic influencers whom Pope Leo XIV addressed as part of an exclusive Mass held at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. She described the experience as “affirming.”
“I feel called to move forward,” she said.
The two-day Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Influencers was one of numerous Catholic assemblies taking place this year as part of the Holy Year of the Church, a year of spiritual renewal conducted by the Vatican every 25 years. The event kicked off a weeklong Vatican gathering of young Catholics, with a final Mass attended by a crowd of 1 million.
“For the Church to say, we care not only about the content being created but about the creators — that was really the secret sauce of this gathering, that they consider the work we do significant,” said Katie Prejean McGrady, a Louisiana-based author and podcaster with 42,000 Instagram followers who hosts a daily radio show on Sirius XM’s Catholic channel.
Angie Bosio, 51, in Rome, Italy, in July 2025, where she attended a gathering of Catholic content creators at the Vatican. The Catholic youth minister from Nashville, Tenn., who posts her illustrations of Catholic saints and figures on Instagram, was among more than a thousand so-called “digital missionaries” assembled by the Church as a means of recognizing and helping to guide their work and online influence.
While their audiences pale in comparison to that of the pope — @pontifex, the official papal account, has 14 million followers on Instagram and nearly 19 million on X — their official recognition as foot soldiers shows the Church considers them part of its modern evolution.
“It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts,” Pope Leo told the influencers assembled at the basilica. “This process begins with accepting our own poverty, letting go of all pretense, and recognizing our own inherent need for the gospel. And this process is a communal endeavor.”
‘The Vatican is very aware’
About one in five Americans, or about 53 million people, describe themselves as Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center. That share has been steady for about a decade but remains slightly lower than in 2007, when Catholics comprised 24% of Americans; in 2023, the center noted that the portion of Latinos identifying as Catholic since 2010 had fallen from 67% to 43%.
While no official data indicates Catholic influencers are having an impact, observers say Catholicism in the U.S., at least anecdotally, may be tapping new energy — especially with the selection of Pope Leo, the first North American pope, to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the world’s estimated 1.4 billion Catholics.
Pope Leo XIV waves to faithful from the popemobile as he leaves after attending Mass for Jubilee of Youth in Tor Vergata, in Rome, Italy, August 3, 2025.
According to reports, multiple dioceses around the U.S. have seen higher or even record numbers of converts and/or people aiming to become full church members, among them Los Angeles; Fort Worth, Texas; Lansing, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana.
“In the wake of Leo’s election, there’s so much Catholic content out there, and people are engaging with it,” said McGrady, who was involved in the event’s planning. “The Vatican is very aware.”
Catholics around the country who follow such accounts for inspiration, spiritual growth, news and affirmation are glad to see the Vatican embrace the community as well.
Teresa Kosse, a retiree in Louisville, Kentucky, said she turned to Catholic social media during the isolation of the pandemic, livestreaming Masses and participating in rosary recitations. The lifelong Catholic now follows content creators of all ages on Instagram and YouTube, moved by those who share their faith journeys while dealing with tribulations such as cancer.
“These are things we all face,” said Kosse, 61. “To see people bearing the crosses we all have and talking about it out loud, it shows that hey, life isn’t perfect or easy, that we can lean on (God) and that something better awaits us in the end.”
Father Giuseppe Fusari, an Italian Catholic and social media influencer, poses near the Vatican in Rome, with St. Peter’s Basilica in the background, on July 28, 2025. The Vatican refers to Catholic influencers as “digital missionaries,” with Pope Leo XIV calling on the community to create content for those who “need to know the Lord.”
In San Antonio, Texas, J.P. DeLoera, 41, was glued to the Vatican livestream when white smoke billowed from St. Peter’s in Rome in April, signaling that the conclave had chosen a successor to Pope Francis. The social media accounts he follows include podcasters, everyday Catholics and clergy such as a baseball-loving friar who has visited Major League stadiums nationwide, engaging with fans outside.
“It’s wonderful to see Catholic content producers from all over the world,” said DeLoera, a partner at a commerical insurance brokerage company. “I use social media to witness the strength that other Catholics have, but also to continue learning.”
Digital missionaries, not influencers
Robinson, of Notre Dame, said that while the Vatican’s embrace of content creators reflects an openness to adjust with the times, it’s also cognizant of the pitfalls that social media spaces can pose. That’s partly why it emphasizes the idea of “digital missionaries” over “influencers.”
“When you hear ‘influencer,’ you tend to associate it with a celebrity or product placement,” Robinson said. “A digital missionary is different; it’s someone who recognizes the potential to reach the lonely and hurting and heal the wounds that are there.”
Radio host McGrady agreed, saying the term influencer “feels skeevy.”
“You don’t want the faith to become merchandise,” she said. “If any of us are influencing for anything, it’s to influence people to know Jesus.”
The faithful capture cell phone images of Pope Leo XIV as he speaks at the end of a Mass conducted by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle for so-called “digital missionaries” at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on July 28, 2025. The Catholic Church is embracing Catholic influencers, hoping to spread messages of faith using the power of social media.
Still, digital missionaries have to navigate a balance between humility and vanity, aiming to share their faith widely without being tempted by the lust for followers or likes.
“There’s always discernment anytime you post a video,” McGrady said. “Am I posting this because I’m trying to make a sale or because I want to go viral? Or am I posting this because it’s informative?…. It’s about being truthful and good rather than just grifting my way through clicks and likes to earn a quick buck.”
Here’s how several Catholic content creators approach their missions.
Laura Kelly Fanucci (Instagram: @thismessygrace)
Laura Kelly Fanucci’s deeply personal Instagram account probes grief, suffering and the struggle to live with faith and hope, topics the Twin Cities, Minnesota-area author has addressed in books and in her longtime blog. Nine years ago, she and her husband had twin daughters who died after being born prematurely, and in 2023, Fanucci was diagnosed with cancer.
“I always joke that I wish my brand was happiness and everything going well, but I write a lot about the harder parts of life,” said Fanucci, 44, who is now cancer-free. “I was saying things out loud that others weren’t willing to say.”
Even if her issues weren’t necessarily someone else’s, she said, being willing to share them made her relatable to others going through turmoil.
Fanucci hopes to foster conversations and community among her 30,000 followers, exploring how believers can discern divine presence and direction during life’s most challenging times. While she’s enjoyed plenty of positive feedback, occasional haters surface too — especially as Fanucci feels increasingly compelled to post about the iniquities she sees.
“There’s so much injustice going on in the world and in our own country, and I don’t think people of faith can keep silent about that,” she said. “As I’ve spoken up, there’s people who get angry, who unfollow or who tell you to stay in your own lane…. What any given individual puts out into the world is not for everyone.”
Laura Kelly Fanucci, in a photograph taken in Summer 2025. The Catholic author and writer, who lives in the Twin Cities, Minn., area, has used her Instagram account to explore the quest to live one’s faith in the face of life’s difficulties. She’s among a community of “digital missionaries,” or Catholic influencers, that the Vatican has embraced in an effort to capitalize on the power of social media.
Fanucci called the Vatican’s willingness to embrace social media “a fantastic development,” reflecting foresight over fear or condemnation.
“The Church is saying, we want to be where people are,” she said. “Rather than preaching of its dangers, they’re saying there’s possibility here for growth and connection, and we want to be there to share the most ancient truth that we have.”
Nico Chavando (Instagram: @epicdailycatholic)
Nico Chavando, 30, launched his social media presence on TikTok five or six years ago. At the time, he was a teacher preparing young Catholics for the sacrament of confirmation, but he found himself disappointed by the number of people who never regularly returned to Sunday mass after it was done.
He wondered: Had they only pursued confirmation because their parents pushed them into it? Had they been taught that everyone goes to heaven, or that receiving the sacrament was enough to gain entry?
“I wanted to spread the truth that you have to start living it now,” said Chavando, a Catholic-focused life coach who lives with his wife and infant son in Los Angeles. “I thought, I’m going to take the stuff I want to share to those who want to receive it.”
Chavando felt he could find that audience on social media, seeing his mission as “kind of a crusade” to confront the complacency he sensed among some Catholics in how they lived their faith. His account now has 39,000 followers.
“My focus is to help people want what Jesus wants for them now,” he said. “What I want to do is live as Jesus lived. What he wanted was for everyone to go to heaven, but he knew not everyone would.”
Chavando’s simple posts feature short, often one-sentence prayers, some of which he recites himself and others written in text overlaying Christian art.
Nico Chavando, 30, is a Catholic life coach in Los Angeles who felt called to share prayers on his Instagram account. As of August 2025, his account had 39,000 followers.
He’s questioned his online presence, fearful of feeding the habits of those struggling with screen addiction. That’s partly why his posts are so brief, he said.
“Part of me wondered, should I keep on making content?” he said. “I would rather people be with God in the present. At the same time, maybe some people can only be reached on social media. People have reached out and told me my content has helped them, so overall I think it’s a good thing.”
Tanner Kalina (Instagram: @tannerkalina)
Tanner Kalina, a 34-year-old evangelist, actor, and author based in Northern Colorado, said the Vatican’s mission “to reach every soul” explains why he counts social media among the tools he uses to share his faith.
“I’ve tasted all the world can offer only to come up empty and broken,” he said. “I’ve also tasted the healing, loving power of God and I want as many people as possible to experience that.”
His Instagram account, with 30,000 followers, taps his experience as an actor and onetime comedian, mixing musings on faith and life’s milestones with teasers for “James the Less,” the TV show in which he stars on the conservative Eternal Word Television Network.
Just the same, he’s glad that the Vatican is promoting the term “digital missionaries” over influencers.
“‘Influencer’ feels like I’m in control and it’s all about me, while “digital missionary” feels like I have a purpose and someone above me who I’m serving,” Kalina said.
He worries that some Catholic content creators might confuse popularity with their level of influence.
“Sometimes when we post things, there can be a temptation to check all the likes and the comments and the views,” he said in a Jan. 25 post, “and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about why that is.”
He told USA TODAY that a popularity-focused mindset “is the exact opposite of what the Church teaches.”
“Real influence is in doing small things with great love, oftentimes hidden and unknown to people,” Kalina said. “If we have influence but aren’t living that out, then we’re just clanging cymbals, as my man, St. Paul, would say.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vatican embraces social media’s Catholic ‘digital missionaries’
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