by Madeleine Kearns, The Free Press
Since it was launched in 2018, the Christian prayer app Hallow has been downloaded 23 million times. Is this the beginning of a religious revival?
Sarah’s life was in tatters. Her affair was over, and so, it seemed, was her marriage. She was living in a hotel in Chicago, alienated from her husband and three children. All attempts to fill the void—with drugs, alcohol, anything—had failed.
“My options were to sit in misery,” she said, “or just to try to pray.”
Sarah, 39, was raised Catholic, but growing up, the religion seemed to her like little more than a list of rules—what you “shouldn’t do or you’re going to hell.” But after she hit rock bottom, in the summer of 2022, she wondered if the God of her childhood could help. She prayed for guidance, and a day or so later, she saw something on Instagram that felt like a sign.
It was a video advertisement for a religious app called Hallow, featuring a familiar but unexpected face: Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg. He was inviting people to join him in praying the rosary, by listening to a recording on Hallow. (He owns part of the app.)
When Sarah saw this video, she felt seen. “It was just a complete, like, God-answered prayer,” she said.
She downloaded Hallow onto her phone and “went down this giant rabbit hole of consuming all that I could find within the app.” Hallow’s homepage offers a number of options you can listen to, from featured prayers to morning routines, plus courses and music. There’s also Magisterium AI, a chatbox which answers questions on the Church’s teachings.