Hallow App Founder on Pope Leo XIV, Gen Z, and Finding Peace Through Prayer

The Papal Conclave and Modern Appeal

• 🌟 The recent papal conclave, despite its participants being elderly and conservative, became a trending internet event, demonstrating that Catholicism's rituals and moral clarity can be perceived as "cool" by younger generations.
• 📱 For Gen Z and young people, the Catholic Church is increasingly accessible through digital platforms and popular religion apps like Hallow.
• 📈 Dioceses are reporting significant increases in new converts, with Gen Z forming a substantial portion of this demographic.

The Hallow App's Mission and Growth

• 💡 Hallow, described as the number one app for Christian and Catholic prayer, aims to help people spend time with God and discover their faith.
• ✝️ Founder Alex Jones, who previously fell away from the church and identified as an atheist, found his way back through secular meditation and discovering contemplative prayer within Christianity.
• 🚀 The app boasts 18 million downloads and 1 billion minutes prayed, appealing to those who have fallen away from faith or young people exploring their spirituality.

Finding Peace in a Digital Age

• 🧘‍♀️ Jones emphasizes that in a world filled with technological stress and anxiety, people are hungry for real peace, meaning, and purpose.
• 💬 The app offers a way to sit in silence, listen to the Lord, and be filled with love, rest, and peace that transcends typical digital distractions.
• 🤝 While Jones is Catholic, the app is inclusive of various Christian backgrounds, focusing on praying together in Jesus' name.

Prayer, Faith, and the Church

• 🔄 Jones's personal journey shows that discovering a relationship with God through prayer can lead one back to the fullness of the Church's practices, even if initially resistant.
• 🗓️ Interestingly, Hallow sees its lowest usage on Sundays, suggesting users often pray with the app during the week rather than on traditional church days.
• 🕊️ Regarding the new Pope Leo XIV, Jones believes his role is not to "appeal" to young people, but to introduce them to Jesus, who is the ultimate source of appeal.