Eric Mack On-Line

Father Roderick Vonhögen hopes so and he's sharing his journey to meet the Pope and convince him to Podcast. The Podcasts narrate his journey, including confrontations with Vatican security, unexpected trips to the hospital where the Pope was hospitalized, and now, his discussions with Vatican Radio to show them how to Podcast - all in the space of less than 2 weeks!  Amazing.  

For the past few weeks, I've been listening to the stream of Podcasts coming from the Vatican city, as this high-tech priest shares his journey to meet the Pope and present the first Papal Podcast. I won't summarize the Podcasts here, because I do not want to spoil it for you. There are amazing and unexpected twists in the Podcasts as the events unfold. I will tell you that the Vatican is now involved and that the new few Podcasts should be even more interesting - more than you might expect.

What I find most interesting and compelling about these Podcasts is the use of descriptive narratives and soundscapes to pull the listener into the experience. Hearing the feet walking across the cobblestone streets, the water splashing in the piazza, the crowds waiting to see the Pope, or the dripping water deep inside the catacombs under the city.  Vonhögen brings a sense of realism and wonder as well as the certain charm and suspense that could previously only be found in a classic old-time radio broadcast.  Yet, all of this is being produced by one guy, one mic, and a minidisc recorder.

These Podcasts are not produced by the Vatican, but by Father Roderick Vonhögen. Vonhögen's set up his blog site, Catholic Insider, with the mission "Podcasting from the heart of the Roman Catholic Church." The content is not focused as much on those of the Catholic faith as it as on giving the ordinary person a glimpse inside this priest's world.

Althought, I'm not a Catholic, I have appreciated being able to "listen" in on the adventures of Father Roderick  as he uses his mobile Podcast setup to bring soundscapes from the Vatican city.

Best of success to you, Father Vonhögen!

If you are going to listen, I recommend that you listen to the Podcasts in sequence. Here are the current links as of this morning:

Catholic Insider February 23, 2005

Catholic Insider February 24, 2005

Catholic Insider February 25, 2005

Catholic Insider February 26, 2005

Catholic Insider February 27, 2005

Catholic Insider March 1, 2005

Catholic Insider March 2, 2005


You can subscribe to the Podcasts with this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/catholicinsider