Last Sunday saw a momentous and unprecedented event for 1 billion Catholics around the world when Pope Francis canonised (recognised as saints) Pope Saint John XXIII and Pope Saint John Paul II - with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in attendance.
If you are Catholic, this was a pretty big deal.
If you aren't Catholic, this was still a pretty big deal: popes are world leaders, heads of state, and the event garnered media coverage from every corner of the globe.
If you are a social media observer or a technologist (Catholic or not), then I think this event serves some interesting concrete examples of just how much things have changed in the last few years or decades - even when you are an organisation that hasn't changed much in over 2,000 years.
I guess what struck me the most about Sunday - other than the pure historical uniqueness of the event - was my ability to connect with it. Here I am, a Catholic Kiwi on the other side of the world (almost) from Rome, and yet there I was, watching the whole event live streamed on YouTube. In HD. For free.
But it wasn't just the access to the video that was impressive or exciting - it was the feeling of connectedness that was reinforced by social/new media. There were tweets and Facebook posts, memes and humour, Instagrams and podcasts - all swirling around this incredible occasion, and all enriching the experience for someone who could not be physically there at the Mass. Pope Francis is the 266th pope of the Catholic Church. The line extends back to St Peter (you all remember him, right?) and obviously a lot has changed in the world since then. You would expect that over a period of some 2,000 years! But Pope Saint John XXIII was pope from 1958-1963 - only just over 50 years ago - and it almost seems that technology has changed as much in that time as in the preceeding 1,950 years!
Saints in the Church have traditionally been seen as somewhat remote, holy figures that good Catholics should be inspired by. But Pope Francis just canonised two saints who, not only are in living memory for many people, but who are anything but remote. There aren't any photos of Pope Saint Peter, but there are plenty of photos, videos, and radio recordings of Pope Saint John Paul II. Suddenly saints are moving from being remote, intangible characters to very real, very human beings - with the associated 'digital echo' that is so common nowadays.
That echo is only getting louder and more pronounced for Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, iTunes, Amazon, App Stores - all are increasingly providing connection points into the Holy Father(s), even if you are on the other side of the world.
The same to modern-day saints-in-the-making. How long before the Twitter feed of someone is considered as part of their cause for sainthood? In a few years, we could be saying that we were a friend of the newly canonised St
It's a pretty cool time to be a Catholic geek!