Hallow prayer app secures $40 million for global expansion

Along with new content, Hallow has added an advisory board to its ranks in order to ensure alignment with the Church.

Hallow, the preeminent Catholic prayer app, has surpassed 1.5 million downloads. It’s only been two-and-a-half years since Hallow was launched and it’s already reached several milestones, including 25 million prayers completed and 35,000 five-star reviews. Now the company has announced that it has secured $40 million in Series B funding that will proliferate its content and expand its global reach.

Hallow reported on the successes on its website, where it noted a 700% increase in the number of prayers started through the app compared to the same time last year. One reason behind this influx in users has been the world pandemic. As many Catholics were kept from in-person Mass, Hallow offered a way to fill the gap with traditional Catholic spiritual practice.

Another, less circumstantial, reason for the app’s success has been the fever pace at which they’ve been adding content, including daily reflections on the Gospels, saints, and the Rosary. In recent months they have also added to their catalog Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year series and Sunday sermons from Bishop Robert Barron.

These are not the only big names to have joined the Hallow family, however, as they have also brought on Sr. Miriam James, whose reflections attend to the user’s mental health, as well as an Audio Bible recorded by The Chosen’s Jonathan Roumie. The app is rounded out by sections with meditative music, community challenges, prayer groups, and Bible stories, not to mention over 3,000 meditations.

According to the Hallow website, the Series B funding will allow the production of more content, as well as making more of the app available to free users. In addition, Hallow plans to add new languages to the app and double its staff.

As the app continues to expand and show great potential for growth, Hallow has decided to create an advisory board. This panel will examine future Hallow releases to ensure the app remains authentically Catholic and in alignment with the Church. The board is led by Bishop Kevin Rhoades and includes Fr. Kevin Grove and Dr. John Cavadini from the University of Notre Dame, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Fr. Steve Gunrow from Word on Fire, and Dean Abela from the Catholic University of America.

Alex Jones, CEO & Co-Founder of Hallow, wrote of the mission and future of the app:

We believe there are a lot more people out there searching for a connection to something bigger, for a deeper sense of peace, or for a closer relationship with God. If we can help just one of them to start a conversation with God – to discover His love and His peace – it will have all been worth it.