Catholic Techie Patrick Leinen

Today's Catholic Techie is passionate...about his vocation, about technology, and most of all, about his Catholic Faith. Just read this recent post he did about building Catholic apps at My Year of Faith and see if you don't find yourself cheering.

He's part of the dynamic team at Little i Apps, makers of the rockin' awesome apps Confession, eVotions, and My Year of Faith, to name but a few.

In the few interactions I've had with Patrick (and with his wife, too!), I've come to appreciate him as the kind of guy whose wife I'd like to know better and who's doing his best to be a Catholic man of God. The fact that he's part of developing some of my favorite apps? Well, let's just say I'm not holding it against him...

Tell us about yourself in five words or less.

Father. App Developer. Redhead. Catholic.

Of your pursuits, what's your favorite?

App development.  I’m a total nerd so anything that involves tech.  Each of us at Little i Apps is drawn to the technology of app development for different reasons. For me, it is the challenging, cutting-edge work within a very specific, unique format.

App development challenges programmers and designers to create something that is equally simplistic, unique, useful.  It’s a really delicate balance – creating something that people enjoy will enjoy using while making their lives easier.

I find the whole adventure of building entertaining.  The joy is in just creating things – the fact that people use it is just icing on the cake.

When you think of the New Evangelization from your approach as a "Catholic Techie," what excites you? What makes you want to continue?

I like that there are a lot of avenues to approach the New Evangelization. The Catholic Church is this very social, active community that is on the precipice of expanding into much faster forms of communication. I sometimes feel like our team gets a front row seat at seeing the changes. As a theology nerd, programmer, and Catholic it is all really interesting to see.

The thing that pushes us forward is personal. We love all things Catholic and we want to share it. With tech, it makes that sharing a much faster and larger experience. Also, the team has a bajillion ideas and each project we complete is just another opportunity to pick one and make it happen.

What's the most rewarding aspect of your work?

Besides the personal satisfaction of just building stuff, it’s reading reviews. It’s a really humbling experience. I don’t do it very often, but when I finally get a chance to stop and read stuff - like people going to confession for the first time in 20+ years or someone who comes to a deeper spiritual experience because of something you made – it’s kind of amazing. None of us are looking for this kind of recognition, but seeing it has been incredible.

In your spare time, what are we likely to find you doing? Do you have a gadget in hand or do you go native and screenless?

My wife and I had our first baby born 12 weeks ago. I’m coming to a deeper understanding that babies require a lot of work!

I enjoy playing games, either on my computer, one of my game systems, or on the iPad.

Even though I’m an app developer I’ve learned to just turn off my devices from time-to-time. I think it’s important for people to know it is okay to shut down your phones/tablets/computers and experience life with those you love most. But if you turn it back on – you should totally download one of our apps.

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Copyright 2012 Sarah Reinhard