Leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States has introduced its first mobile app: USA Catholic Church. Designed to draw millions of Catholics closer to their faith by providing access to Church information on all screens and devices, this is the only app that brings together information from all Catholic sources: parishes, dioceses, the U.S. bishops and even the Vatican. Not only will the app include religious news, daily scripture readings and local parish content, it will feature exclusive, in-depth coverage of Pope Francis' September visit to the United States.
"This is the most comprehensive virtual connection to the Catholic faith available," explains Bishop Christopher Coyne, chair elect of the Committee on Communications, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which created the app. "We understand many people are looking for more ways to connect with the Church and incorporate Catholic living into their busy lives—that's exactly what this app is designed to do."
App content is available in both English and Spanish and lets users:
• Follow Pope Francis with the latest news and communications, including videos and photos.
• Access unique mobile features: view daily readings, make mobile donations, receive news alerts, get Vatican and Catholic News Service updates, and have the ability to share via social media.
Additionally, the USA Catholic Church app will offer up-to-the minute coverage of Pope Francis addressing a joint meeting of Congress and the United Nations, as well as the public at the World Meeting of Families. The Pope will visit the United States from September 22-27, 2015.
In October, new parish and diocese functionality will be released, allowing users to:
• Stay in contact with local dioceses and parishes through individual pages with mass and confession times, homilies, events, blog posts, videos and bulletins, and locate local parishes at home or when traveling with a "Church Finder" tool that works by location, city, state or ZIP code.
"This is the first Pope to address Congress and the United Nations," says Bishop Coyne. "It's truly a historic moment for the Pope, and the USA Catholic Church app will provide news and coverage that people simply can't get anywhere else."
The USA Catholic Church app is free to download from your smartphone or tablet device at Google Play, Apple iTunes or www.USACatholic.church. It is available in English and Spanish.
