For the past 20 years the ‘Catholics Come Home’ apostolate has been responding to St. John Paul II’s call for a “new evangelization” by creating inspiring TV commercials that invite inactive Catholics to return home.
According to an article in the National Catholic Register, “With years of prior professional media experience in advertising, CCH founder Tom Peterson prayed, ‘How do you want to use my life, God?’ He believes God prepared him to evangelize to people, but not in the pews. So he produced a media program for the Diocese of Phoenix, resulting in 92,000 people coming to, or back to, the Church.”
What set Peterson’s media program apart was its quality and ability to portray the Catholic Church in a positive light. As its website explains, “Inspired by the our Holy Fathers’ calls to a New Evangelization and re-proposing of the Gospel, Catholics Come Home reaches out to inactive Catholics using inspiring TV commercials and an interactive web site. Without pressure or obligation, Catholics Come Home.org offers an opportunity to learn the truth about the Catholic faith in a loving, non-judgmental atmosphere. We offer many resources that aid fallen-away Catholics and non-Catholics in learning more about returning to the Catholic Church. Coming home has never been easier!”
The results of Peterson’s efforts speak for themselves.
Archbishop Carlson of St. Louis noted, “We are blessed with approximately 37,000 souls who returned to the faith (increased Mass attendance by 8.3% / Advent 2011).” Bishop Michael Sheridan of Colorado Springs stated that “This television campaign had a significant impact on hundreds of thousands of viewers in our region.”
In Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto revealed there was a “16.05% increase in Mass attendance (20,800 souls returned to Church).”
Their most popular TV commercial (seen below) is simple and highlights the joy and beauty of the Catholic faith. All of the “evangomercials” can be found on the website, which features a wide array of commercials that are inspirational and many that provide personal testimonials. There is even a young adult branch of the apostolate that has content specifically geared towards young people.
And today we celebrate...