Web Catholic-Catholic Webmasters Blog

St. Mary Immaculate Parish (Diocese of Joliet)

If you  have chunk of time to get lost in a good Web site, the online home of St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Plainfield, Ill., is a highly recommended link.  You’ll not only get to know the church’s community, but also pick up great ideas  for bringing your own site into the world of Web 2.0. You’ll find an online poll,  readings that change daily, a place to submit prayer requests, a  video gallery, homily and missions podcasts, an online forum and newsfeeds.  What makes this site effective is that all the fun stuff—the videos, the  podcasts, the interactive calendar—doesn’t interfere with the essentials that visitors often want to grab in a hurry. All  of the “standard” information (Mass times, directions,  etc.) is easily accessed from the homepage. Last, but certainly not least,  parish members have the ability to share St. Mary Immaculate news and podcasts  with the rest of the world. Click here to see widgets that can be posted on MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal and  other social networking and blog sites. What a great way to spread the word  about your parish site!

St. Raphael Catholic Church (Diocese of Joliet)

This simple site does a great job of keeping the homepage fresh and relevant. Near the top, important and timely links are provided: current week’s happenings, Sunday bulletin, weekly meditations, ministry schedules and more. Scroll a bit to learn about upcoming events, and browse the site’s main navigation to learn about the church’s mission, various ministries and religious-education programs. St. Raphael provides a lot of information about the church’s adult faith-formation program and liturgy, but the site’s text is easy to read and digest. Follow a link on the homepage to the associate pastor’s blog, where you can find Father Pat Mulcahey’s reflections throughout the Easter season, homilies and links to scripture and countless Catholic sites and blogs.              

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (Diocese of Charlotte)

Here’s a parish site that’s ready for Holy Week and Easter. The online home of St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church stays up-to-date with announcements and events, links to the weekly bulletin, parish calendar and Mass readings, and an event schedule for Holy Week. An attractive Flash presentation provides the site with a lively front door and complements the color scheme, but doesn’t overshadow the important links mentioned above. Last but not least, a nice feature at StACharlotte.com is “Ask Father Forum,” where visitors can anonymously share faith-related questions and problems.

The National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods (Diocese of Gaylord)

Visit CrossintheWoods.com to learn about “one of Michigan’s best known and most visited shrines.” The material under the “About the Shrine” link in the dropdown menu is definitely worth checking out. Start by exploring the shrine’s history and the artists involved in its creation, and by reading a timeline of various milestones and events. Then, take several 360-degree virtual tours of the church, its shrines and its gardens. In addition to basic information, like Mass times, bulletins and staff photos, there are also areas for submitting online prayer requests, for doing some online shopping at the gift shop and for subscribing to the print newsletter.

St. Bede Catholic Church (Diocese of Richmond)

Nominated for our “Site of the Year” award last year, BedeVa.org was a strong contender thanks to clear navigation, timely content and beautiful photos. Click on “About Us” to find a monthly message from the pastor, Mass schedule, directions, bulletin and newsletter. Be sure to launch the “Virtual Tour,” a collection of gorgeous photos featuring the church’s exterior, artwork, Mass and pipe organ. Take some time to browse the site’s content to learn about various ministries and religious-education programs. There’s a lot to read, but it’s easy to digest thanks to appropriate spacing and font sizes, good use of subheads and well-placed art.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Diocese of Rockville Centre)

Need ideas for integrating parish news into your site? Take some time to look at this site, which does an excellent job at keeping visitors informed of the latest happenings and upcoming dates. This is particularly important as we enter the season of Advent. There are numerous events listed at the online of home of St. Elizabeth of Hungary: Christmas 2007 Giving Tree, Respect Life Committee poinsettia sale, Knights of Columbus tree lighting and other events for the whole family. Also, the Christmas Mass schedule is already posted. (It's never too early!) In addition to its noteworthy news and events, StElizabeth.org provides a parish registration form, a detailed parish history, Lenten and Advent reflections, links to daily Scripture and more.

Catholic Community of St. Patrick (Diocese of St. Petersburg)

Here’s a site that does a good job of keeping things simple and informative on the homepage by posting the church's mission statement, Mass schedule and a list of news and events. Click on the address in the left sidebar to be taken to a Mapquest map and a form to get driving directions. (Maps and/or driving directions are a must for all parish sites, and using Mapquest is free!) What’s also nice is the site’s background. Typically, patterned background images are a no-no, but St. Patrick's does it right, making sure content itself is against a solid color (in this case, white).

St. Blase Catholic Community

Here’s a parish site that does a good job organizing a lot of information. The site’s nine main areas (“About Us,” “Stewardship,” “Faith Formation,” “Christian Service,” “Parish Life,” “Liturgy,” “Pastoral Services” and “Popular Links”) are neatly subdivided to prevent overwhelming visitors with too much content on one page. For example, click on “About Us” in the navigation to reveal links to “Staff Profiles,” “Pastoral Council,” “History,” etc. Also, thanks to a nice variety of photos, graphics and header banners that change depending on what section you're in, this text-heavy site is easy on the eyes and fun to browse.

St. James Cathedral (Archdiocese of Seattle)

St. James Cathedral is celebrating its centennial, and you can read all about it in a special collection of pages entitled “It’s Your Cathedral!” Here you can explore this church’s rich history through an online presentation of timelines, photographs, personal accounts and a special section for kids. There are a lot of other things worth checking out. From the main page, browse the links on the left for coming events, a virtual tour, homilies, a bookstore and prayer resources.

All Souls Catholic Church (Archdiocese of Denver)

All Souls Catholic Church, honored as Site of the Month in 2003, has made  upgrades worth talking about. First, the  homepage’s content—including Scripture, announcements, Mass schedule and useful links—has a lot to offer  visitors, but thanks to the clean layout, it’s not overwhelming or cluttered. From the homepage, click on calendar dates for Mass information and special events at the church. Also, browse the site using the nice drop-down menu, and read about the church’s history. Those interested in keeping up with All Souls can subscribe to the e-mail list, and parish members can sign up online to access further information online. Last but not least, the Youth Ministry page is worth taking a look at. If you’re looking to update or redo your parish's site, All Souls’ site is worth checking out for some great ideas!