After the first world meeting that brought Catholic influencers together at WYD Lisbon, it has been decided there will be two days dedicated to them during the Jubilee next year.
They will be held on 28-29 July 2025, and will be a new opportunity to meet again and continue to promote the figure of the digital missionary.
An example of mission in the digital space is Fr Heriberto Garcia, who has 250,000 followers on Instagram. Just days before going to Lisbon, he explained how he was going to use his social media during WYD.
“For many young people, it is important because most of them experience World Youth Day remotely. Not everyone can go,” Fr Garcia said.
“So, it is through our eyes that they will have the experience of young people with a lively faith, who are there to meet the pope and to meet a lot of people. It is a great responsibility and, at the same time, I am very hopeful that I will learn a lot.”
The Vatican continues to study how to unite evangelisation with the digital world, especially in order to reach the younger generations.
In fact, Sister Valladares was chosen by Pope Francis to work in this area in preparation for the Synod. It is a field she is well versed in as she uses social media every day.
“To Samaritanise is to listen, to heal wounds and to accompany. All those people who write to us daily, write us privately on social media to tell us about their lives, their problems, ask us for prayers, book recommendations, recommendation of a priest to talk to,” she said.
Pope Francis has expressed interest in learning how influencers use the Internet to do good in society. In 2016, he met with 11 YouTubers from different countries, leaving them with a selfie memento.