Archdiocese partners with prayer app Hallow to invite the faithful to go deeper
Evangelization is built on the foundation of prayer and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
As the Archdiocese of St. Louis works to implement Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s “Disciples Make Disciples” pastoral vision, it’s partnering with Catholic prayer app Hallow to help the faithful form and deepen good prayer habits.
“Even if people spend a lot of time in and around our parishes — or leading our parishes — it doesn’t mean they have an in-depth relationship with Jesus,” director of evangelization and discipleship Brian Miller said. “We spend a lot of time talking about the need to evangelize and giving people practical tips and tricks, but prayer is at the heart of it. And if we haven’t taken the time to teach people to pray and bring people into relationship with Jesus, then it’s hard to send them out.”
The partnership will offer people in the archdiocese a $1 yearlong subscription to the Hallow app, which features a wide range of Catholic audio content designed to help users dive deeper into prayer, including guided Rosaries, novenas and meditations, as well as scriptural reflections, homilies, music playlists, saint stories and more. Narrators include Father Mike Schmitz, a popular speaker and host of “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year”; Jonathan Roumie, the actor who portrays Jesus Christ in the TV series “The Chosen”; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a native St. Louisan and archbishop of New York; actor Mark Wahlberg; and many other well-known Catholic speakers, priests and religious sisters.
(Hallow can also be accessed through a web browser at hallow.com, for those without smartphones.)
The archdiocese will also create four prayer challenges throughout the year to encourage the faithful to come together in common prayer, led by Brian and vicar for parish mission and vitality Father Chris Martin. The first will draw from “Disciples Make Disciples,” offering an 8-10 minute daily reflection on aspects of the vision for evangelization and accompanying patron saints. That challenge will run from late October through All Saints Day on Nov. 1.
The others will be Advent and Lent prayer challenges that offer archdiocesan-specific introductions to Hallow content, and a practical evangelization-focused series during the Easter season, Brian said.
“We want to give people some ideas and concepts, but ultimately, lead them to prayer, because prayer is what fuels our mission,” Brian said. “I think that’s really the key.”
The archdiocese will have its own landing page in the Hallow app, and parishes are able to create their own community pages, which include space for moderators to post written reflections or questions and users to share their own takeaways or prayer requests.
There are currently about 23,000 Hallow users already in the St. Louis area, 60% of whom are Catholic, Brian said. All current users will be invited through the app to join the archdiocesan prayer challenges, giving the archdiocese a chance to reach people engaged in prayer but perhaps not a parish or even the Catholic Church.
While praying along with an app on your phone may seem like an exclusively private undertaking, the common challenges are meant to encourage community and accountability, Brian said. For example, during a two-week prayer challenge, get together halfway through with a small group of fellow parishioners or friends to talk about how the Lord has been speaking to you and what He is calling you to do, he suggested.
“It’s going to draw people together to the Lord to be sent out on mission. I think that’s the real hope,” Brian said. “Anybody can read the vision document, but it’s when you break it open and figure out what the Lord’s actually calling you to in your life — and you have people to walk with — that it will actually change hearts.”
Subscribe to Hallow
To learn more about the archdiocesan partnership with Hallow and how to subscribe, visit archstl.org/pray
Disciples Make Disciples
“Disciples Make Disciples” is the pastoral vision announced by Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski on Jan. 25. The vision builds upon the All Things New strategic pastoral planning process, which restructured parishes throughout the archdiocese.
Accompanying the vision document is “The Way: A Journey Toward Renewal and Vitality,” an experience to guide parishes and ministries in formulating a clear vision rooted in evangelization and assist them in exploring diverse approaches to creating a path for discipleship. To learn more about “Disciples Make Disciples” and “The Way,” visit theway.archstl.org.
