Catholic digital missionaries and communicators from across Asia gathered in Quezon City for the first Asian Catholic Digital Missionary Assembly, focusing on collaboration and the Church's growing use of digital media to share the faith.
Hosted by Radio Veritas Asia at Fairview Park, the four-day assembly ran from 10 to 13 September. Participants from different Asian countries came together to discuss digital evangelisation, communication and ways of supporting one another in their ministry.
The gathering carried the theme, "Influencers to Witnesses: Synodal Way for Digital Mission in Asia". It encouraged Catholic communicators to look beyond the role of social media influencers and focus instead on becoming authentic witnesses to the Christian faith online.
Among those attending was Father Ritchie Vincent of the Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore in India. He said his interest in the gathering developed after attending an international meeting of digital missionaries at the Vatican, where he noticed that relatively few participants had come from Asia.
"That was a burning desire within me," he said.
Father Vincent said the Manila assembly provided an opportunity for digital missionaries from across the continent to meet, exchange ideas and work together. He currently serves with a digital missionary community in India that includes Catholic influencers receiving formation as well as digital missionaries pursuing deeper Catholic studies.
He said he was particularly interested in learning about new techniques and technologies that could help strengthen his ministry and reach more people.
Philippine delegate Gie Rhea Jadulco said she wanted to learn how Catholics in other Asian countries use social media and other forms of digital communication.
"I just want to learn from other cultures also and how social media, social communications were in other countries in Asia," she said.
She also welcomed the opportunity to meet participants from different countries and develop friendships during the assembly.
Another Philippine delegate, Mika Ellah L. Tabada, said the gathering offered an important opportunity for discussion and exchange among people working in digital mission.
She noted that participants may share the same wider region but come from different cultural backgrounds and use different platforms and communication practices.
"Even if we are all Asians, we have different cultures, we have different platforms, we have different practices," she said.
Tabada added that Filipino participants could also share qualities such as hospitality and creativity with other delegates.
Jennifer Odelia Meredith of Indonesia said she hoped the assembly would introduce participants to new approaches to media and content creation while helping strengthen digital mission efforts in their home countries. She also highlighted the importance of prayer and mutual support among those involved in digital ministry.
Throughout the four-day gathering, participants took part in discussions, formation sessions and exchanges focused on digital evangelisation, communication and collaboration.
The assembly opened with Holy Mass, with delegates wearing traditional clothing from their respective cultures. The celebration highlighted the cultural diversity of participants while reflecting the unity of the Catholic Church across Asia.
Based on reporting by Matters India.
