Catholic Missionaries in Latin America Turn to TikTok to Reach Younger Generation

Catholic priests, nuns and deacons across Latin America are turning to social media to reach younger generations as church attendance and religious identity decline in the region. The Vatican has embraced social media as a new evangelization frontier. During COVID-19 lockdowns, online religious content surged, and many sermons and celebrations moved online.

Content on the short-video app TikTok ranges from reflections and holy water tutorials to comedy and late-night raves. Last year, a trio of Austrian nuns in their 80s used their online following to avoid eviction and documented their escape from a church-assigned nursing home.

During his papacy, the late Pope Francis encouraged local churches to support those carrying out missions in the digital realm. Pope Leo, who is touring South America starting Friday, has taken a more cautious tone, according to the report. Catholic summits offering support and media training continue to grow globally.

Heriberto Garcia, a 38-year-old Mexican priest and filmmaker from Jalisco, believes online pulpits should be seen as a bridge whose ultimate goal is to bring people to religion in person. He began by posting videos of charreria, a form of Mexican horsemanship and a family passion, before launching into religious reflections aimed at young people struggling with mental health. His audience grew rapidly during the pandemic. He counts more than 2.7 million followers across his platforms, ranging from teenagers to retirees, who watch his formal yet intimate sermons filmed in close-up headshots.

“There are a lot of people who don’t have a priest, a psychologist, or someone they trust to talk to nearby, but they do have social media,” Garcia said in an interview. Despite his success, he said he still feels more comfortable at the pulpit. His remark about people without nearby support reflects the care for neighbors that the Gospel calls for (Matthew 25:35).

Colombian deacon Rafael Beltran is part of a Vatican committee created after the 2024 Synod of Bishops to support digital creators across Latin America. He said shared language and culture help influencers reach beyond borders. He also noted that the largely unregulated world of online influence has made some church leaders wary. “Everyone with a mobile phone can share something about our faith, but criticism has arisen partly because there’s a lot of freedom, or lack of control,” he said.

According to the Vatican, Latin America is home to more Catholics than any other region. The report notes that the religion continues to dominate despite a series of sexual abuse scandals and as its traditional teachings have increasingly diverged from some countries’ reforms expanding rights for same-sex couples and easing abortion restrictions.

Brazil, a secular state, hosts the world’s largest Catholic population, and the Church remains highly influential even as evangelical Christianity gains ground. Progressive Catholics also use online platforms. Carla Angelini, who coordinates the Brazilian branch of Catholics for the Right to Choose, a network that defends abortion rights, said the group has a hard time breaking through unfavorable online algorithms. She said social media companies “take down our accounts and censor our content if we talk about abortion,” and that another Catholic group had attempted to sue them to change their name. Abortion in Brazil is illegal unless specific conditions can be proven.

Two years ago, lawmakers took 23 seconds to fast-track a bill that would have raised prison sentences for abortion nearly sevenfold, to as much as 20 years, which is more than double the standard sentence for rape. The bill failed after a mass social media mobilization, including calls to protest from popular Brazilian K-pop fan groups.

Source: Read the original report