6 Ways to Get Ready for Your Pope Watch Party
More than 20,000 people have signed up to join ISN in watching an historic moment unfold: on September 24, Pope Francis will address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. If you’re hosting a watch party, here are 6 ways to get ready for a fun morning of reflection and conversation in your community and online.
Haven’t registered for a pope watch party yet? Learn more & Register Now!
1. Reserve Your Space
Have you figured out where you’re gathering yet? Remember, you will either need access to a TV (to view the address on CSPAN) or computer with a standard internet connection (to view the Live Stream at igsol.net/pope2congress). The address will air at 10:00 AM ET (Note: This new time was announced by Speaker John Boehner’s office on 9/10/15) and we estimate the length to be ~30 minutes. You may also want to build in time for group reflection, conversation, social media engagement, and celebrating your Pope BINGO winners!
2. Get Your Ignatian Network Spirit Ready
We want social media to be flooded with photos of members and friends of the Ignatian network watching Pope Francis’s address, so ask attendees to show their spirit on address day with school, parish, or ministry clothing, banners, and swag.
3. Consider A Meal or Snacks
If you’re hosting the watch party live, you might consider croissants or pastries similar to facturas, which are a common breakfast treat in Pope Francis’s home in Argentina. Don’t forget the cafe con leche! If you’re hosting a later watch party, you could indulge in one of Pope Francis’s favorites: spicy empandas.
4. Get Ready for Social Media
In order to best engage with the over 200 schools, parishes, religious orders, community groups, etc. who will be hosting watch parties, we are asking each group to assign and register one social media caption. However, all of your participants should be encouraged to engage in social media using #Pope2Congress
Participants can also be encouraged to begin following handles that will be actively covering the Pope’s historic address from both Catholic and secular news sources:
Ignatian Solidarity Network: @igsolidaritynet
Other Catholic Sources: @americamag | @catholicnewssvc | @ncronline | @thomasreesesj | @jamesmartinsj | @usccb
On other social media platforms?
Ignatian Solidarity Network will also be engaging on Instagram and Facebook:
Facebook: /ignatiansolidarity | Instagram: /ignatiansolidarity
5. Print Your BINGO Boards
What could be more fun than Pope BINGO? If you weren’t able to order hard copies of the Pope BINGO cards, you can still print them using our digital copies. Versions 1 & 2 | Versions 3 & 4
6. Invite Everyone!
With over 20,000 participants registered in watch parties and millions guaranteed to be watching worldwide, we encourage you to invite EVERYONE! Need some help? Here’s a flyer.
BONUS: Let the press know what you’re up to! Here’s an easily customizable Pope2Congress Press Release to help spread the word.
