Evangelist or Catholic influencer? Spreading the Gospel in the digital age.

This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak to Noah Banasiewicz, S.J. Noah is a Jesuit scholastic and lecturer in the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago.

Ashley, Zac and Noah talk about:

- The opportunities and pitfalls of evangelizing on social media

- The fine line between evangelist and Catholic influencer

- How media theory can help us understand the evolution of evangelization

In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss the controversial ICE nativity scene at St. Susanna Catholic Church in Dedham, Mass., and Pope Leo’s comments on Ukraine and the Trump administration. They also break down the new Vatican document on ordaining women to the diaconate. 

In parish announcements, Zac and Ashley announce that they will be filming a mailbag episode and call for questions from the audience. If you have a question for the “Jesuitical” team, please send your questions to jesuitical@americamedia.org by Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.

In As One Friend Speaks to Another, Ashley and Zac discuss their thoughts on Pope Leo’s explanation for not praying at the Blue Mosque in Turkey. 

Links for further reading: 

Noah’s article in America, “Catholic influencers have a media theory (and evangelization) problem”

Boston archdiocese tells church to remove ICE message from Nativity, but pastor refuses for now

Pope Leo explains why he appeared not to pray at the Blue Mosque in Turkey

Vatican report says no to ordaining women deacons—for now

Women Deacons and the Catholic Church | An Explainer video from America

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