In a recent audio history of the Catholic Church, in a section on thirteenth-century reforms and innovations, Christopher Bellitto speculated that if Francis of Assisi were alive now, he would have used social media: “He’d have a blog and a Twitter account and an Instagram account, because that’s where people are today.”
I was struck by this remark. While it wasn’t implausible, something about it felt disturbing, even contradictory. Would St. Francis really? And if he had in fact used YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram to spread his example of humility and embodied mercy, could he have done so and still come out a saint?
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