Students appear to be more stressed and anxious than ever before. Silence and peace are difficult to come by for students who spend the majority of their time on their computers and phones, consuming content that often feeds their anxiety. The Spiritual Life Team at Cardinal Gibbons High School (CGHS) in Raleigh, NC, is on a mission to help students form a relationship with God and recognize His presence in all those whom they encounter. In the fall of 2022, the Hallow for Schools Program was launched at CGHS. Within a few short weeks, the #1 Catholic prayer and meditation app was made available to all students, faculty and staff, as well as a free trial for parents and families.
“We know how much time our students are spending on their phones,” shared Gary Meyerl, Assistant Head of School for Spiritual Life. “We saw this as an opportunity to provide them with another avenue to be able to grow in their faith.” The Spiritual Life Team described Hallow as “another arrow in their quiver” when it comes to faith formation resources that can help the school achieve its mission. Fr. Luke Rawicki, chaplain at CGHS, shared that he is proud to share Hallow with students as an option for finding peace and prayer in their lives. “We have had students approaching us quite frequently saying ‘we want to grow in our faith’ and they don’t know exactly where to turn,” said Fr. Rawicki. “Hallow could be another one of the arrows.”
Hallow is not only a resource for students, but also for educators to explore their faith in a deeper and more personal way. Meyerl shared that he is heartened by the idea that a number of educators have communicated to us that ‘this is helping me.’ Educators are using their commutes, breaks and personal time outside of the classroom to learn more about their faith, while also finding resources within the app that they can share with their students. Emily Andino, a Spanish teacher at the school, shared that she was not only personally using the app to help her pray during Eucharistic Adoration, but also that she recommended it to her students to help them learn prayers in Spanish. “They can change Hallow’s language to Spanish and play a rosary meditation to get lots of practice with the two prayers they need to memorize: Ave María and Padre Nuestro,” she said.
The diversity of content within the app, coupled with the new content that is launched on a weekly basis, creates anticipation and excitement about the app among students and faculty alike. “I like that it is always updating. For a teenager, the fact that it is always new, fresh and cutting edge continues to ignite their interest (and mine as well),” shared Fr. Rawicki. The Hallow app is the #1 Catholic app and has more than 5,000 unique sessions, ranging from 1-60 minutes long. Hallow has content specifically for daily meditations, sleep and music, as well as popular pieces of content like Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz and Sunday Sermons with Bishop Barron. Derek Fusco, a junior at CGHS, shared his experience with some of Hallow’s content and said he enjoys “spending 15 or 20 minutes on the drive to school every morning praying a rosary or listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s perspective on the Bible or the Catechism.” Hallow has a host of features that enable students and faculty to create a community of prayer as well. For example, users can create groups within the app where they can share prayer intentions and reflections and schedule times to pray together. Peggy Monti, theology teacher at CGHS, said that in addition to using Hallow as a lesson in the classroom, she has “two classes that have started a class group too.” Educators at Hallow’s hundreds of partner schools are utilizing Hallow’s robust prayer and meditation resources in the ways that best fit their needs in the classroom.
The Hallow for Schools program is offered to all grade schools, high schools and universities as a mental and spiritual health resource for students, faculty and families. Hallow aims to be a resource that can “meet people where they are” both literally (on their devices) and on their spiritual journey. This mission, along with Hallow’s focus on building a personal relationship with God, make it an ideal tool for both Catholic and non-Catholic audiences. Hallow offers a curriculum guide, lesson plans and seasonal guides for educators who wish to use Hallow in the classroom. With a free three-month trial for parents and families, Hallow is inviting the primary educators of the students — their parents — to continue to deepen their personal relationships with God and feed the flame of the faith within the family.
As part of Hallow’s partnership with NCEA, all NCEA members receive an exclusive discount on all Hallow resources, including the “Hallow for Schools” program, which includes Hallow subscriptions for all faculty, staff and students, as well as guided lesson plans for teachers, physical prayer materials for classrooms and Hallow-led engagement events for schools. Schedule a demo of the Hallow App here or refer your school to us by reaching out to community@hallow.app.
Emma Dodson is the Hallow Schools and Parishes Partnership Specialist.
Emma DodsonCommunity@hallow.app