myParish

myParish is a free app from Diocesan Publications that connects you to your local parish in one place: bulletins, announcements, daily readings, prayers, confession and Mass times, parish staff contacts, and event RSVPs all in a single interface.

You start by picking your parish from a list of thousands across the country. Once selected, the app pulls in that parish's bulletin, calendar, push announcements from the pastor, and contact information. You also get the Catholic daily readings, a prayer collection, an examination of conscience, and basic Catholic content that is the same across every parish.

What I appreciate is that this app does what most parish communications should do, in one place. Instead of chasing the bulletin, the parish website, and a Facebook page, you get the bulletin in your pocket on Sunday afternoon, the funeral notice on Tuesday morning, and the daily reading whenever you open the app. The push from the pastor for a snow-day Mass cancellation is the part most people will quietly grow to depend on.

This is genuinely useful for any parishioner whose parish has signed up, and many have. Especially helpful for parents juggling Mass times across two parishes, for visitors traveling who want to find a parish quickly, and for anyone whose pastor is comfortable using the push-notification feature for real updates.

The catch: it depends entirely on your parish actively maintaining their content. If the parish staff don't keep the bulletin and announcements current, you get a quiet, half-stale app. The Catholic content outside your parish (readings, prayers) is fine but generic.

Free, by Diocesan Publications. Available on the App Store: myParish. Ask your parish secretary if they're set up on it. If they are, install it today.