Evangelize on social and new media. This is the mission that awaits Don Roberto Fisher who after nine years leaves the leadership of the parish of Santissima Annunziata del Chiappeto, in the Genoese district of Borgoratti, to take on a new diocesan position dedicated full time to communication and evangelization through social and new media. The announcement came on Sunday, during the celebration of confirmations and the inauguration of a new 5-a-side football pitch, in the presence of the Archbishop of Genoa Marco Tasca.
An “influencer priest” with millions of contacts
Don Roberto Fiscer is also known as one of the most followed Italian priests on social media: in fact, it has around 814 thousand followers on TikTok and 278 thousand on Instagram, as well as an active presence on Facebook, where it exceeds 66 thousand followers. A digital popularity that has accompanied his priestly ministry over the years, making him a reference figure in the dialogue between the Church and contemporary languages. «Today our Archbishop Father Marco communicated to my community of Chiappeto the new assignment which will see me engaged in a diocesan service dedicated to communication and evangelization, especially through social media and new communication tools to tell how beautiful the Church is», said Fiscer, «I have always tried to do my presence on social media on tiptoe. I’m the first to be shy and surprised about this new assignment. I don’t consider it a promotion but a surprise, those surprises that God gives when we think we aren’t up to par and He, instead, tells us that we are important, precious. I thought that once I had completed 9 years here in San Martino they would send me to another parish and instead this new adventure will begin.” Don Fiscer also explained that the new service will have a strong communicative and musical dimension, with particular attention to the diocesan radio and activities linked to the Gaslini hospital.
The project of the diocese
According to what was communicated by the Curia, the new assignment is part of a broader project of renewal of ecclesial communication: «The idea is to transform Radio Among the Notesborn 13 years ago, and of which Don Roberto is already managing director, in a diocesan radio”, reads the note released by the diocesan offices. «The commitment will also continue with the live broadcasts from Gaslini to support the families and small patients of the pediatric hospital».
A new “digital parish”
Don Fiscer’s new service will start in September, after the conclusion of the summer camps with the children and the appointment of the successor at the helm of the Chiappeto parish. An unprecedented phase of ministry thus opens for the priest, all played out in the digital and communication world, in a sort of “widespread parish” that crosses social networks, radio and online platforms. A challenge which, in his words, does not represent a point of arrival but “a new adventure” at the service of announcing the Gospel in the languages of the present.
