With the launch of its latest Advent Calendar app, xt3 has entered its second decade of serving Catholic people, not only in Sydney and Australia but around the world.
The new app contains a variety of videos, meditations and podcasts for the Christmas season and will this year include special messages from Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, Bishop Terry Brady and Bishop Richard Umbers.
Xt3 Digital Content Manager Laura Bradley said she was excited to share an xt3-produced animation with the world, one dedicated to Archbishop Fulton J Sheen – a man many Catholics suspect of being a “saint in waiting”.
Fulton Sheen was a pioneering, mid-20th century evangelist who expertly used the technologies of the day – radio and television – to spread the Gospel.
“I think the animated video which will be featured in the Advent calendar will be received well, as a youth ministry resource and by Fulton Sheen fans around the world,” Laura told The Catholic Weekly.
“I’m really happy that one of his quotes is the theme for this year’s app: ‘Divinity is always where one least expects to find it’.”
Xt3 have been offering an Advent Calendar app since 2011, adapting it each year for emerging needs.
In light of the next World Youth Day being held in Panama – a short trip away from the Tilma (cloak) of Our Lady of Guadelupe in Mexico – Bishop Richard Umbers will provide app users with a unique retelling of the story of St Juan Diego.
And Bishop Terry Brady will offer his message about how Catholics can – and must – see Christ in the poor.
The Advent Calendar is also expected to be a regular sight at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival next month, where xt3 will be a constant and accessible presence.
The media ministry offers a variety of digital “gifts” to the Church, including its online “Ask a priest” forum, its event calendar – to which local youth ministries and parishes can add events – and an extensive digital library of videos and podcasts from the best Catholic events.
In 2018, Sydney Archdiocese will be building a studio to create more youth resources and videos for use in youth ministry – in Sydney and beyond.
“Catholics have been known in the past for creating beautiful works of art – frescoes and buildings and so on.
“In this new digital space, we need to create high quality videos and podcasts that will engage young people and pass on the faith to them.”
The Advent Calendar app can be downloaded for iOS and Android, and is also accessible at www.xt3.com/advent