On Tuesday, Vatican's digital expert said that priests should go online if they want to reach out to people who no longer attend church but are still open and available online.
Monsignor Paul Tighe, the man behind Pope Francis' online presence, urged his fellow clergymen worldwide to accept and embrace social media to reach both believers and non-believers.
In his interview on Tuesday with Reuters during a technology conference in Lisbon, Tighe remarked "Young people are, unfortunately, less present in our churches,"
"Social media is a mechanism that allows us to engage in conversations, to engage with people who otherwise would never come across us and who we are." he adds.
Pope Francis currently has nearly 18 million Twitter followers and his posts are widely shared, but Tighe shares that not all church leaders are following his example.
"In the beginning, some Catholics said social media was nasty and that we should stay out of it," he said.
"We have been trying to convince them that the digital arena is a hugely significant part of people's lives.
"We had to learn to listen to younger people who live in that (digital) environment, and to understand from them what they find helpful and supportive."
The Web Summit the Irish bishop is included on is Europe's biggest technology conference. It brought in 70,000 entrepreneurs and guests.
