The Catholic Church enters the digital age with the firm objective of bringing its spiritual messages and ecclesiastical services closer to its parishioners, in particular the young people of Mexico, through a new mobile application (App).
The foregoing thanks to the launch of the Digital Church App, presented by Cardinal Carlos Aguilar Retes, who heads the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico; Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego, president and founder of Grupo Salinas; and Ninfa Salinas Sada, president of Fundación Azteca and of the Advisory Councils of Grupo Salinas.
unique in the world
The launch of the new App took place within the framework of the celebration of the Mass of the Roses in the National Basilica of Guadalupe.
It is a unique application in the world that puts the services of the Church at the fingertips of users: “This development seeks to generate a space for meeting, dialogue and evangelization, taking advantage of technology.”
According to Cardinal Aguilar Retes, “with the challenges and distancing that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought, this platform makes it easier for users to live their faith and recover their spirituality, in addition to providing services, streamlining procedures and bringing them closer to their parish and his priest.”
He added that, for example, “thanks to the SOS functionality of the App, the faithful will have an easier way to contact and geolocate a priest at any time and at any time, so that he can assist them in the need of a mass of deceased or the care of a sick person.
The Archbishop Primate of Mexico particularly highlighted that “the technology used for the development of this platform was donated by Ricardo B. Salinas Pliego through Fundación Azteca.”
When delivering the App to the Archdiocese, the president of Grupo Salinas expressed in turn: “We made an important donation, because it is all the development of the application, concept and design, with a very clear goal: to bring the community closer to church”.
Added Salinas Pliego: “Today technology is everywhere. We are pioneers in the use of technology in the bank, in stores, in telecommunications. We could not be left behind and we made all the knowledge we have available to the Church”.
Being an entrepreneur, he added, “is inventing new things, combining needs with capabilities. That’s what an entrepreneur does: see people’s needs and figure out how to solve them.”
In turn, Ninfa Salinas pointed out: “It is important to share values that allow us to live together in a more dignified, more honest, more committed society. This is worth it and for us it is a great pride to be able to share the knowledge of Grupo Salinas together with the knowledge of the Catholic Church, which have been close to society for so long”.
Response to young people
Cardinal Aguilar Retes acknowledged that the Catholic Church was absent from all the digital media and networks that communicate today with everyone, but particularly with the new generations: “Networks are the world where young people are, it is where they seek information they need and the Church was not there. It was unfortunate.”
In addition, the cardinal pointed out, the most common question asked in the Google Mexico search engine by young people between the ages of 20 and 35 —which by the way are almost 80% of those who have constant access to cell phones and digital media— is in search of “response to existential anxieties”.
And it turns out, he pointed out, “that we have the best response, the most effective, that of the development of the spirit, which is what gives meaning to all of life, but the Catholic Church was not present.”
That is why “we are so happy to have this expression of the Church in the digital world. Thanks to Ricardo Salinas and thanks to Ninfa, who were the promoters of the application these last two years. Now, thanks to your help, we can tell you that starting today the Digital Church App is available to all those who use cell phones and networks, where they will find what they are looking for; and if they don’t find it, let them tell us what is needed”.
Available
The presentation of the APP was in charge of the journalist Jorge Zarza, who made a navigation demonstration on the platform and showed the functionalities of the new development.
“It is a really friendly and easy app to use at any age. Above all, it offers necessary services for the community in the most difficult moments, such as the SOS button to contact a priest at any time,” said Zarza.
This space is available to all religious movements, religious orders and Catholic institutions that wish to share information: “All evangelizing dynamics will have space in this application,” said Father Álvaro Lozano Platanoff, Pastoral Vicar.
The app is available on the iOS and Android device app stores under the name Iglesia Digital. It can be downloaded to any phone with an internet connection. The user can register, easily create their photo profile and start browsing the application.
Digital Church Modules
Directory of all parishes with address, mass hours and offices.
Record of intentions to be read at the celebration of the Eucharist.
Social network for the faithful.
Digital transmissions of masses.
Repertoire of prayers of all times.
Library of digital evangelizing and training resources.
Resources published in the magazine Desde la fe and the official website of the Archbishopric.
SOS, a special service to find a priest with geolocation who assists in the need of a funeral mass or the care of a sick person.
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MEXICO PRESENTS THE DIGITAL CHURCH APPLICATION