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Since its launch on Saturday, March 9, PopeAlarm.com has received over 35,000 registrants, nearly a thousand per hour, for its free text and email alert messaging system. The service, sponsored by FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, will alert subscribers as soon as the white smoke appears from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, signifying a new Pope has been elected.
"The election of the Pope is one of the most exciting events in the history of the Church. We want everyone to be able to experience the event live," said Kevin Cotter, Director of Web for FOCUS. "It is possible that someone would be sleeping or engaged in another activity and not know of the election. Unlike past elections, we currently have the technology to alert you about the Pope's election and our service can alert you right away, wherever you are."
PopeAlarm.com will also provide live updates about the conclave via the Twitter account, @popealarm. FOCUS staff will be monitoring news from the Vatican 24 hours a day to ensure subscribers receive an alert as soon as white smoke indicates the election of the Pope.
The response to PopeAlarm.com has been very positive, receiving over 140,000 page views from around the world in less than three days. "In addition to offering registrants an alert of when the next Pope is elected, we also hope to draw people's attention to the work and mission of FOCUS," said Jeremy Rivera, Director of Marketing & Communications. "We have hundreds of campus missionaries in the United States reaching out to their peers with the gospel of Jesus Christ every day. The gospel hasn't changed, but the methods and expressions we use to share Christ with the world have, we want to be on the front-lines of this kind of 'new evangelization.'"
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