Update: Click here to read Bishop Barron’s AMA!

We have exciting news! On Wednesday, September 19 (11:00am ET / 8:00am PT), Bishop Barron will be hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the #5 most-visited website in the United States: Reddit. He is the first Catholic bishop to ever host a Reddit AMA in the website’s history.

If you’d like more information, you can review the five quick facts below. Otherwise, mark your calendar and join us in the iAMA subreddit on September 19!

1. What is Reddit?

Reddit, dubbed “the front page of the internet,” is a social news aggregation, rating, and discussion website. Users can post, read, discuss, and vote for (with an “upvote” arrow) or vote against (with a “downvote” arrow) content from all over the internet. These posts and discussions occur in thousands of interest-based communities called “subreddits.” As of February 2018, Reddit had 542 million monthly visitors, with over half of its user base coming from the United States.

2. What is an AMA?

An AMA (or Ask Me Anything) is a real-time, crowdsourced question-and-answer session. A noteworthy original poster (OP) announces their presence on Reddit, opening the door to “redditors” (Reddit users) to start submitting questions. (See AMAs from Bill Gates, Jerry Seinfeld, and Richard Dawkins for examples.) Generally, the OP answers the most popular questions, but the conversation is open and dynamic, with users freely commenting, replying, and upvoting or downvoting questions and answers.

3. Where and when is Bishop Barron’s AMA?

Bishop Barron’s AMA will happen in one of the top-ten subreddits, r/iAMA, which was created specifically for AMAs and boasts over 18 milllion subscribers. The AMA will happen on Wednesday, September 19, at 11:00am ET / 8:00am PT.

4. Why is Bishop Barron doing this?

The mission of Word on Fire is to utilize the tools of new media to proclaim Christ to the culture and draw people into (or back to) the Catholic faith. A Reddit AMA is a perfect opportunity to do precisely that. As noted above, Reddit is an an enormously popular and influential cultural platform, one which has drawn in celebrities, bestselling authors, and even American Presidents for AMAs. But more importantly, Reddit’s audience also tends to be young, intellectually curious, and largely nonreligious. This is a one-of-a-kind chance to introduce countless “nones” to Christ and his Church.

5. How can I help?

You can help support Bishop Barron’s Reddit AMA in three important ways:

1. Sign up for a Reddit account and mark your calendar. If you don’t have a Reddit account, you can sign up for one here (see blue “Sign Up” button at the top of the page). Once you’ve done that, remember to mark your calendar for Wednesday, September 19, at 11:00am ET / 8:00am PT.

2. Join the conversation. When the AMA arrives, sign in to Reddit and go to the r/iAMA subreddit to find Bishop Barron’s AMA. (We will also provide links directly to the AMA over social media.) Once you’re there, feel free to vote for the AMA post (with the “upvote” arrow), vote for different questions and answers, and even pose a question of your own.

3. Spread the news. Most importantly, please share this post with your family and friends and invite them to join us!