Managing Digital Media During the Lockdown: The Case of Sanctuaries in Lazio, Italy

The period of the first COVID-19 total lockdown in Italy and in the world offered a very interesting context to evaluate the use of Mobile Information and Communication Technologies (MICTs) by Catholic shrines for their pastoral care. This research was carried out through a survey and interviews with leaders (rectors) of sanctuaries of Lazio, the region of Italy where Rome is placed. The sample chosen evaluates which initiatives the rectors of these sanctuaries have undertaken to keep in touch with the faithful and other constituencies during the first pandemic lockdown. As in the case of telework, which allowed working at a distance, we focus our attention on the way those shrines maintained contact with people using digital technology. While according to the Catholic Church, there are elements of faith in which the physical presence is mandatory (e.g.: for the validity of a sacrament), that does not exclude the many pastoral activities which can be done online, as some Catholic shrines managed to do. Besides offering relevant case studies on the integration of ICTs within the Catholic Church during Covid19, this research could inspire further reflections about the place of ICTs in the Church pastoral.