You, Too, Can “Friend†Pope Benedict XVI
Soon enough, you can cyber-kiss any of the Papal rings, from the early renaissance ruby and diamond rings to the current solid gold ring worn by Pope Benedict XVI. No longer do you have to wait in huge crowds to merely see His Holiness go by in his pimped-out Mercedes-Benz SUV Popemobile; or travel all the way to Vatican City to be a speck in a crowd in St. Peter’s square; or try to score tickets to any of the masses over which he presides and grants “audiencesâ€. Expecting to be given a direct blessing by the Pope is like expecting that Ed McMahon was going to show up at your door with a check for millions of dollars (y,know, before he died). It could happen, but it wasn’t likely. But now, all of that isn’t necessary. All of the legwork is being taken out of chasing the Holy Father around the globe. All you need now is an internet connection and a working knowledge of social media.
Who wouldn't want this guy as a Facebook friend?
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Papacy is getting its own Facebook page. It already has an event page that was designed to promote Benedict XVI’s September trip to the UK. Apparently, despite the six-month expiration of the event for which it was designed, more than 10,000 people regularly check in. Those devout Catholics evidently need to get their mass on. Seeing this, the Vatican’s social communications office found an untapped market: Facebook freaks. The millions and millions of people across the globe who spend hours every day—hours when they should be focusing on spreadsheets for work or maintaining relationships with family—screwing around on Facebook. And out of those millions and millions, there are scads of Catholics. That’s just math. The launch of the new Vatican website will, initially, be dedicated to upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1. It will link to video highlights of His (late) Holiness’s 27-year papacy. The designers of the page are focusing entirely on the beatification for now.
But the Holy See is hoping for much more from this re-entry into social media. The six-month old, never-updated page has become an online community in which Catholics, or any interested person, can interact. At Easter, the Vatican is launching an information web portal, the contents of which are meant to be posted, tweeted, and even blogged. It will contain information about the Vatican’s views on, for example, the Tsunami in Japan or the various uprisings in the Middle East. With a multi-media format, “friends†of the Popedom can send out the Vatican’s innermost feelings about issues with the click of a mouse. Pope Benedict XVI did the unthinkable when he allowed “the faithful†to ask questions online. While an exhaustive search of the Vatican website, various websites for “the faithfulâ€, and a Google search provided no “Contact the Pontiff†links, it is possible that they were already taken down. When His Holiness responds to some of these questions on Good Friday, he will be the first Pope ever to answer to online posts. His pre-recorded responses will be available on Italian state television, and, 10 seconds later, on YouTube. No word yet on whether there are plans for a Pontifex Maximus YouTube channel.
The original Vatican website will remain as it is, posting the Pope’s schedule, Papal events, celebrations, and links to get tickets. That will stay as it has always been. But now you can “like†and “friend†the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI, all without getting out of your PJs and slippers. With friends like that…