In an uncharacteristically high-tech move, the Catholic Church decided to make its first foray into mass texting the announcement of a new archbishop to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri. Sharing the news through text messaging service is not a typical method of announcing changes for the Vatican; however, the spokesman of the Archdiocese indicated that this particular technical method of communication through SMS software had been implemented for a specific reason.

The congregation of St. Louis had been without an archbishop since the 27th of June, when the former Archbishop, Raymond Burke, was named the first American to lead the Vatican Supreme Court. Burke left St. Louis after a relatively short and reportedly stormy tenure of just over four years that featured public battles with such figures as Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, singer Sheryle Crow, and St. Louis University’s basketball coach. Once a new archbishop was announced for the St. Louis diocese – announcements are typically made around 5 a.m. local time – the archdiocese sent a mass SMS to each contact registered with their website.

While communications from the Vatican have never yet taken the technological leap of PC SMS, this mass SMS communication is believed to be the first official use of text messaging service by the Vatican to members of the faithful.




While most parts of the globe consider SMS the only universal mobile platform for the masses – it doesn’t require a special download, it’s already available on all cell phones, two-thirds of all mobile phone users are active Text Message user, etc. – the U.S. is still considered lagging behind in SMS Marketing. According to many estimates, U.S. mobile users place a larger number of voice calls in a typical month when compared with European mobile users. Price is the most likely reason for this difference, however, as U.S. domestic calls are typically quite inexpensive and more European calls are likely to cross borders, making them more expensive than sending an SMS message.

Then, there’s also the difference in commuting paths and methods. Most U.S. mobile device users commute by automobile instead of mass transit. As a result, radio is the dominant medium in use for the U.S. market while Europeans receive their updated marketing via SMS services.

U.S. marketing efforts have not made text messagingcampaigns as prevalent as they are in other parts of the world. The U.S. mobile device market features a higher-than-usual percentage of mobile e-mail devices leaving that channel open for marketers to use instead of re-designing their campaigns for SMS.

Of course, the adoption of any new technology is a value-driven choice for most. As larger numbers of people in the U.S. begin to see the value of SMS marketing campaigns for their cost benefits, much higher read rates, and location-aware abilities, text-based marketing campaigns are likely to increase. The tools are already available and adoption rates mean that the U.S. is poised for a big leap toward SMS text messaging services.

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