HOLD MY ROSARY

Pope Leo Invites Hot Priests of Social Media to Vatican for Youth Appeal Summit

The promise of salvation isn’t enough to lure in the youth, but bodybuilders in dog collars might be.

The Vatican is ready to cash in on the collective thirst for men in robes. Instagram is full of clips of tall, dark, and handsome priests spreading the word of God while showing off some impressively chiseled features, and they might be the key to getting new demographics into the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV has invited over 1,000 of these social media-savvy priests to get together in the Vatican on Monday, where they’ll figure out how to appeal to the young through high follower counts and TikTok trends. Guests include Father Ambrogio Mazza, who serenades his almost 500,000-strong fan base with gentle guitar melodies. If you’re more into gym rats than soulful musicians, Father Giuseppe Fusari will be taking his tattooed biceps along for the show. The move isn’t as wild as it might sound—Pope Francis I wasn’t scared to harness the power of social media to reach new audiences, and Pope Leo was quick to pick up the mantle. This particular effort, though, is likely to be the most aesthetically pleasing yet. Prepare your screen time limits accordingly.

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