Renata Milán Morales
A group of Catholics in Dublin have created a Catholic events app called ‘Beacon’, with the purpose of ensuring that “everyone in Ireland is aware of the event and/or community that God is calling them to.”
Speaking to The Irish Catholic Ciarán Heelan, app co-founder explained that “Every single person who downloads the app has all Catholic events in Ireland at their fingertips. There are no suggestions, no algorithms, no private groups. This way, someone who knows zero practicing Catholics can find the perfect event for them.”
Mr Heelan explained that “The people who are more likely to find out about these [Catholic] events are the ones who need it the least. Most of these groups promote via word of mouth or WhatsApp groups,” forgetting those who have never break into these circles -converts, immigrants, young Mass-goers who don’t know other parishioners, people who have moved to a new area…
The co-founder explained that for most of his life he did not know “where most Catholic events were on, or even that they were on” which “stunted” his faith development. “When I got into Catholic circles, I began to realise that there is a lot out there! People say the Catholic Church in Ireland is dead or dying. It’s not,” he added.