Podcast showcases
archdiocesan services, news

From politics to sports, comedy to murder mystery, technology to current affairs, there are millions of podcasts worldwide covering all sorts of subjects.

As of this month, the Archdiocese of Louisville is in on the action.

“What’s New in ArchLou,” a monthly podcast series, dropped its first episode June 7. Episodes, hosted by the archdiocese’s chancellor and chief administrative officer Dr. Brian B. Reynolds, will go live on the first Tuesday of every month.

The podcast exists for three reasons, according to Cecelia Price, chief communications officer.

“We want to provide information about the good work of the church, we want to inspire people to become more connected with their faith and parishes and we want to provide value” to the people, she said in a recent phone interview. “It’s not just about promoting us but it’s also about how we can help you with your involvement in your church.”

Take, for example, an upcoming episode about Catholic schools.

“We’ll talk to the superintendent (of Catholic schools, Dr. Mary Beth Bowling) and maybe another guest about the great things our schools have to offer,” Price said. “But we’ll also cover things like, what do our parents need to know? For new parents sending their kids to school for the first time or parents who decided to put their kids in Catholic school this year. It will be very informative.”

Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, left, was the first guest to appear on What’s New in ArchLou, the archdiocese’s new podcast series. Dr. Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer, will host each episode. (Photo Special to The Record by Gary Hermann)

The first episode, available now, features Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre as the guest alongside host Reynolds.

The idea for the podcast came about this spring when Melissa Herberger, coordinator of the Catholic Services Appeal, and Molly Keene Smith, director of the archdiocesan Office of Mission Advancement, were brainstorming ways to promote the work of the Catholic Services Appeal.

“I had seen some podcasts done by some other organizations and I said, ‘I really want to do some kind of a podcast where we can highlight a different program or ministry that is supported by the Catholic Services Appeal each month,’ ” Herberger said.

She noted that the Office of Youth and Young Adults’ podcast, which launched in March, has been pretty successful.

After discussing logistics with Talgrace Marketing & Media, the company that created the CSA’s most recent promotional video, “We were like, ‘Oh this is a good idea but it’s bigger than CSA,’ ” Herberger recalled. “So then we kind of turned it over to Cecelia (Price) and her office actually came up with the schedule of who’s going to be on and what organization will be featured each month … so she’s got some exciting guests lined up and I hope people tune in.”

Price said podcasting is “a very popular medium and it’s growing.” She is looking forward to reaching new people and a wider demographic, she said.

Herberger said the overall goal is to “reach a larger audience and to give people information about ways that they can get involved and be engaged within their parish community and grow in their faith.”

“I hope that people will tune in to either watch it or listen to it because I think it’s going to provide a lot of great, unique information about the archdiocese and things that are going on that people are going to want to get involved with and know more about,” she said.

Next month’s guest will be Richard “Tink” Guthrie, vice-chancellor and coordinator of the synod process for the archdiocese. He will discuss Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality.

Other future guests will include Dr. Karen Shadle from the Office of Worship and Aaron Frazita from the Office of Youth and Young Adults.

“What’s New in ArchLou” is available on Spotify, Apple Music and anywhere you listen to podcasts. The video version is available on the Archdiocese of Louisville YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channelUCAmzap_5JAuaMzCyc3h3dnw.

Find the podcast on the archdiocese’s website at https://www.archlou.org/whats-new-in-archlou/.

Kayla Bennett
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Kayla Bennett
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