Andy Drozdziak
A Catholic multimedia prayer campaign has gone viral in its first week, with a huge 19,000% increase in social media reach.
The Archdiocese of Southwark’s “Give Prayer a Go” campaign was launched on social media platforms on Ash Wednesday, 14th February, and has already been viewed over 1.5 million people on Facebook.
Facebook defines “Reach” as the number of unique users who have seen a post. The Archdiocese of Southwark said: “For context of the reach of the campaign comparative to the size of the organisation, the last 7 days has a 19,000% higher reach than the previous 7 days for the Archdiocese of Southwark’s Facebook account.”
The engagement-the number of reactions, comments, shares and clicks-is also up by an eye-watering 12,000% in comparison to the previous week.
The campaign aims to help people connect with Christ through prayer by providing content which enables them to do that in their everyday life.
Archbishop of Southwark John Wilson, who launched the campaign, shared his ‘delight’ at the numbers-and believes it reveals a deeper desire.
“The extraordinary reach of this simple prayer campaign underlines how much people do desire a relationship with Christ, but sometimes just need a little support in lifting their hearts and minds to Him. Prayer is a precious gift and I am delighted people are embracing it this Lent,” Archbishop Wilson said.
Prayers released so far include the Act of Contrition, a prayer used in the sacrament of confession, and the Nicene Creed.
Breaking down the figures, Facebook defines “Reach” as the number of unique users who have seen a post. The reach of the videos released on Facebook so far includes:
• The Nicene Creed: 510,000 people
• Trust & confidence by St Padre Pio: 491,000 people
• Stillness of my soul by St John of the Cross: 322,363,000 people
• Fatima prayer: 146,000 people
• Act of Contrition: 105,000 people
The Archdiocese of Southwark expressed surprise at the numbers, since it has not spent any money on advertising, whilst Archbishop Wilson explained how the campaign can help people.
“Prayer is a gift from God, it’s his way of revealing his desire to have a meaningful and lasting relationship with each of us. Too often people find it hard to take a moment to lift their hearts and mind to God,” he said.
“I want people to rejoice in the wonder of prayer and that is why I’m encouraging people to give prayer a go.”
The prayers to be released during the campaign include those which feature part of the Catholic liturgy and those written by Saints of the Catholic Church. Many of the prayers are much beloved by Christians, while some are lesser known and aim to help people connect with Christ in prayer.
The prayer video campaign will continue throughout Lent and will finish on Easter Sunday. The campaign can be seen across the Archdiocese’s social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and the website: www.rcaos.org.uk
Photo credit: Archdiocese of Southwark