Catholics clicked with online ministry. Will we keep it up?

Parishes got more tech-savvy during the pandemic and it led to connected communities of faith.

As COVID-19 cases rose rapidly in March 2020, dioceses around the United States responded by closing church doors to keep their communities safe. For many Catholics, the lack of in-person access to the sacraments was a particularly painful aspect of the lockdowns. Rachael Harvey, pastoral assistant for youth and young adult ministry at Sacred Heart Church in Enumclaw, Washington, remembers the sense of longing she felt after Masses were cancelled.

“I haven’t missed many Sundays in my lifetime. Not having that all of a sudden was hard,” she says.

Like many other Catholics around the world, Harvey soon found comfort—and a sense of connection—through technology. Sacred Heart parishioners began praying the rosary together over a livestream soon after the lockdown started. By May the parish was livestreaming Sunday Masses. Following each Mass, Harvey and her colleagues organized a virtual coffee hour for parishioners to connect via Zoom. Each coffee hour included breakout rooms where parishioners could connect in small groups and make conversation.

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