Lisa M. Hendey, webmaster of CatholicMom.com, self-taught new media entrepreneur, and author of The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul
and the forthcoming A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms, was selected from over 750 entries and invited to the Vatican for an international gathering of 150 Catholic bloggers to be held on May 2, 2011—the day after Pope John Paul II will be beatified in St. Peter’s Square.
According to website of the Vatican’s Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communication, the purpose of this meeting is to “allow for a dialogue between bloggers and Church representatives, to listen to the experiences of those who are actively involved in this arena, and to achieve a greater understanding of the needs of that community.” This meeting reinforces the directives of Pope Benedict XVI on World Communications Day 2010, in which the Roman Pontiff challenged priests to “proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.”
Upon hearing that she was selected to attend the Vatican blogger meeting, Hendey said, “I am so humbled and honored to be among the 150 bloggers selected. It was an absolute surprise. . . . I'm thrilled to have this tremendous opportunity.” Hendey intends to provide regular updates via her Twitter and Facebook profiles during the Vatican meeting and invites anyone interested to follow her on these platforms.
Hendey, who founded CatholicMom.com in 2000, began as a stay-at-home mom teaching herself web design and blogging platforms, and eventually started the renowned Catholic Moments podcast. Her site welcomed over 500,000 unique visitors to its thriving online community in 2010; these numbers represents visits from people in nearly 200 countries.
Hendey is committed to serving Catholic moms through new media technologies and stated, “Moms who work full time, who parent on their own, who home school children, or who spend time volunteering can connect and learn from each other, pray for each other, and celebrate the beauty of our faith with each other. As the technology continues to grow and evolve, so does our commitment to using it as a Church to care for the faithful.”
Based in Fresno, California, Hendey routinely leads workshops and lectures around the country, encouraging Catholic moms in their vocations and teaching priests, diocesan and parish staff, and lay ministers how to integrate new media technologies into their ministries.
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