Fairmount Church Gets Big Boost In Attendance Thanks To Social Media
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A church in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia had a few more worshipers Sunday - about 300 more - thanks to a push on social media.
It wasn't a Flash Mob, but a "Mass Mob" at St. Francis Xavier, The Oratory Catholic church.
"I Decided to get a website together, a Facebook page, Twitter," says Ben DiFrancesco, a member of the parish who helped put "Mass Mob Philly" together. "I put it out there and people really responded."
DiFrancesco calls this a grassroots effort, with the Archdiocese' blessing, inspired by a similar push in the Buffalo diocese.
"We all come together from around the Archdiocese to celebrate mass with people we normally wouldn't get to see or get to know," he says.
Father Philip Bochanski says on a typical Sunday they get 100 people per service and that the ushers tell him this week it was 400, their voices coming together in prayer and song.
"So now, a seed gets planted and they take it back to whatever parish they're from, wherever they're going to be next week," Bochanski says. "and if they're a little more on fire for the gospel than they were before, that's a great success."
DiFrancesco hopes they can bring a "Mass Mob" to another church soon.