I have a confession to make. Last week, when I wrote about iPadre Father Jay Finelli, something didn’t feel right. Not about him. He seems an outstanding priest.
I got the idea about the “iPadre” from I saw something on television a few days before. I caught it in the middle, and didn’t get the whole story, but I did see where this priest was a Apple aficionado and had developed an iPad app for the Roman Missal and used it rather than the actual Missal at Mass.
I heard the reporter use the moniker “iPadre” for him. So, I Googled “iPadre” and only one news article registered, much less any television reports (the one I found was from a local station and buried on his Web site), and that article was from the The Georgia Bulletin (Archdiocese of Atlanta) — strange, since I also thought the iPadre was in Italy. Stranger still since the article was about a priest in Diocese of Providence.
Oh, well, what do I know. The “Heat Index” has hovered around 110 degrees for about two months. Maybe I was suffering from heat fatigue and thought “Italy” because I heard an Italian name, which Father Finelli has. I further researched Father Finelli, found more information, was quite impressed and wrote a blog about him. I’ve heard from some people and have had interesting discussions about the use of technology in bringing the Word to more people.
But something still stuck in me. I’m the type that simply cannot go unfulfilled in the pursuit of a story and my instincts are pretty good. I’m the type that just has to know. I’m not satisfied until I’m satisfied all avenues are exhausted to confirm or deny any hunch I have. Yesterday, I was still thinking about it. Then, it hit me: Although one might think it specific enough, instead of “iPadre,” Google instead, “priest uses iPad at Mass.”
Thank you Saint Anthony! (Don’t laugh, he helped me find deleted blog posts on another blog, once — Google and Yahoo! cache them.) So, today, here’s a post about the real iPadre!
He happens to be Father Paolo Padrini, 36, an Italian priest who consults with the Vatican, (indeed, from Italy) and another Mac head (see boing boing). Now that I know his name, there’s miles of info on him. He created the Roman Missal app for the iPad and it became available for free in July in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Latin. He created it with his own money and mind — the Vatican, though approving, had no role in its initiation or creation. According to Rebecca Boyle at PopSci.com, via the AP, an audio version with suggestions for homilies will be available before too long. But it wasn’t his first Apple app. He also invented an iPhone app called the iBreviary, which contains the book of daily prayers used by priests. More than 200,000 people have downloaded it (AP/PhysOrg.com).
All of this is seen by both the Vatican and Father Padrini, who serves as an advisor, fittingly, to the Vatican on social communication, as a plus, both in reaching young people and logistically for priests, especially for those who travel much. Having the Bible, Missal, Breviary and more at the their finger tips, in one piece of technology, rather than several bound editions, is convenient.
So, we have iPadres on two continents. Doubtless, the American iPadre is one of those 200,000 downloaders. Both priests are doing creative, yet labor intensive, work in the Lord’s vineyard to bring the Faith to more people. It wasn’t by design, but I was happy to learn about both. Confession is, after all, good for the soul.
