Are you a serious Papist? Would the daily grind be more bearable if occasionally you could see Pope Francis’ winning smile or browse through his latest photos? Have you been searching for a smartphone app which has, “among its chief weaponry an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope”?

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The Pope App is just the thing. Perhaps you’re thinking , “Nah, Thanks anyway. I already have e Pope2U. “  ePope2U is great, but, it functions primarily as a news application The Pope App is so much more.

Since this app was developed and is managed by the Pontifical Council for Social Communication. you’ll still get Tweets from His Holiness, along with plenty of  news updates through the Vatican Press Office, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, Agencia Fides, News.va and Vatican.va.  In addition to all that news, it includes many other Papal media:

  • pictures galore
  • videos
  • 6 live webcam images
  • news
  • the Papal Events Calendar
  • speeches and homilies (full text!)
  • links to other services of the Holy See

Truly a Pope of and for the people,this app allows us to follow Pope Francis’ schedule and even be notified an hour or immediately before any event begins, making it the ideal tool for cyber-stalking The Papa.

You’ll be able watch Vatican happenings live on 6 well-placed webcams, which should be fun since, for the first time in history, the Vatican is now home to both a Pope and a retired Pope. There will be plenty of Pope-watching to be done.  At present, two cams (the Basilica and  the gardens at the retreat Castel Gandolfo) are reporting “Tempoaneamente Non Dispondible,“ but St. Peter’s Square, the Governorate, Bl. John Paul II’s tomb are all up and running fine.

My favorite is the bird’s eye view of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. I’m currently gazing at the Roman night sky dotted with shiny lights. How dreamy is that?

This app is visually compelling and aesthetically pleasing with clean lines and bold design. The logo includes JPII’s crozier, which was originally Pope Paul VI’s, and has been used by each Pope since. Including such a traditional symbol of the Pope’s authority and care is a lovely way to show  that, while the Church moves forward with the new evangelization,  we do not forget our roots.

The Pope App is available for iOS and Android 2.3 and in five languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Using it feels very natural and easy. Anyone familiar with modern social media will be able to navigate this one, which is similar to the Facebook mobile app.

All in all, a lot of bang for the buck. The buck, BTW, is FREE.

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Copyright 2013 Jen Haganey