By Jessica Easthope
It might be one of the newest apps available, but its impact could last a lifetime.
The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Lenten Pilgrimage app is moving parishioners down a path toward the future of faith.
“We’re going to have the digital passport, which is going to give everybody the opportunity to download the app,” said Father Joseph Gibino, the vicar for evangelization and catechesis. “It can be a global experience.”
Father Gibino said the goal of the app isn’t downloads and clicks, but to become a tool for engaging with the Lenten season.
“Some people have the advantage of being able to literally walk the journey of the pilgrimage by visiting the station, churches, others, especially the younger members of our community who are still working, who still have jobs will now have the opportunity to digitally make the pilgrimage,” Father Gibino said.
The app, which is free of charge and available for download on iPhones and Androids, was developed by DeSales Media Group, the communications and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn that operates Currents News and The Tablet.
It allows you to get direct updates about the Lenten Pilgrimage and set goals and milestones as you pound the pavement to more than 35 churches across Brooklyn and Queens. Visits will be automatically tracked using QR codes posted at each church.
“We will be creating a community of intentional disciples through the app,” Father Gibino said. “So even though one might not physically be able to get everywhere, one can login, ask for prayers, join in the experience, and this is just step one of our digital growth.”
Plus, there’s a built-in prayer community. Users can post special intentions asking for prayers on the app that has a potentially global reach.
“We all know that real physical presence is the best, but this is a way for people to share, and to know that we can pray together and experience each other’s growth in the Lord through all these different means,” Father Gibino said.
This year’s pilgrimage is dedicated to Sister Maryann Ambrose who Father Gibino said exemplified Lenten sacrifice and made it to every single church on the pilgrimage last year.
“She was such a driving force last year, making every one of the pilgrimage sites. She drove other pilgrims to the churches,” Father Gibino said. “She talked about it, she wrote about it, and she just became one of the human faces of the pilgrimage.”
It’s the start of the Lenten season for Catholics and the start of a Lenten Pilgrimage in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
But this year, the diocese is unveiling an app to guide Catholics on their journey.
You can download that Lenten Pilgrimage app now, just search “Lenten Pilgrimage” in the App or Google Play store, and you can prepare for your journey across Brooklyn and Queens.