'Click To Pray' 2.0 at the service of the synodal process

By Linda Bordoni

"Click To Pray" 2.0 is an updated digital proposal that can be downloaded on iOS and Android platforms. Launched by the “Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network”,  the app offers users a variety of specific propositions to pray together with Pope Francis on a daily basis, and support the synodal process.

Launched on Tuesday in the Holy See Press Office by the Network itself, in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops and the International Union of Superiors General, "Click To Pray" proposes new content for prayer and accompaniment of the synodal itinerary.

The International Director of the “Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Father Frederic Fornos, SJ, noted that as, Pope Francis says, “the heart of the Church’s mission is prayer”; and for this reason, “Click to Pray” intends to become a place of personal encounter with the Lord and to build a worldwide community of digital prayer.

Monsignor Lucio Ruiz, the Secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, added that one of the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic is that “the digital culture has much to offer”, also in its capacity “to reach and accompany men and women wherever they may be, including those who may find themselves in geographical and existential peripheries”. He stressed that the Pope’s social media platforms have increased enormously in followers in the past couple of years.

In her presentation, Bettina Raed, International Coordinator of Click To Pray, explained that users will now be able to organise their own personal prayer planner, configuring their moments of prayer for each day.

For those who are not familiar with the app, it features the option of receiving notifications and a wide choice of content for prayer at any moment of the day, in order to inspire people to commit fully to the intentions of the Pope and pray for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church.

Available in seven languages, “Click To Pray” aims to provide a bridge between generations by promoting interaction among users by offering the chance to generate a shared community space, where each user can publish his or her intentions and share prayers throughout the entire network. It also includes a teaching tool for experiencing prayer at a more profound level.

“Click to Pray” has so far reached over 2.5 million users on all continents, allowing more than 400,000 users to pray together with Pope Francis for his prayer intentions.

As Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, has had occasion to point out, “The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is at the service of the spiritual process, which invites us to be available for the encounter, listening from the heart and the discernment of the Holy Spirit.”

"Synodality," he notes, "requires both personal and community conversion which originates in and is sustained by prayer. Our prayer, which springs from silence and contemplation, can be of immense help to the entire Church”.