BRIDGEPORT — The Diocese of Bridgeport is among the first in the nation to launch a mobile phone app that will allow smart-phone users to download information and obtain the latest news about their faith.
It is available free of charge on the App Store and on Google play for Android use.
The app is also designed to engage young people in their faith in new and meaningful ways and has a section designated “Youth.”
“People throughout the diocese have told us that they want to see the Church on social media, which is the new marketplace of communication in our culture,” Bishop Frank Caggiano said. “Our youth along with many adults have urged us to use social media to engage, inform and inspire people of faith.”
Caggiano said the diocesan app will foster communication between the parishes and throughout the diocese by providing a central location where events, news, and information can be shared on a modern and widely used medium.
The app will also let people search for parishes based on their GPS location, access news and events, and view a daily devotional as well as parish and school directions and information, and connections to diocesan social media accounts.
“The goal is to bring people throughout our diocese together and to help build communities of faith,” said Caggiano.
Newly named diocesan Social Media Leader, John Grosso, said the app has specific features that allow parishioners, both young and old, to connect to service opportunities, prayer and formation groups, and community service opportunities.
Grosso said, “Reflecting a renewed push by the bishop to engage the youth as an integral part of our church, there is an entire section of the app where young people can find opportunities to engage in their parish and the diocese, from information on youth groups, to mission trips, and a section titled, ‘Ask the Bishop.’”
There are also features on the diocesan Synod and the ministry of Bishop Caggiano, including his homilies and videos. A section on Catholic Life provides videos on the faith.
The app was designed and produced by Deacon Patrick Toole of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Fairfield. The design includes the development of a secure private website or “hub,” which lets parishes upload and update key information on a regular basis.
