Sending a diocesan broadcast

A diocesan message can reach everyone, so there are three everyday levels and a separate button for emergencies.

The everyday levels

On Compose a broadcast, choose one of three:

• Diocesan notice. For all the faithful. It shows in the app feed and as a website banner for 72 hours. No phone notification and no text message. Good for "the Chrism Mass is this Tuesday".
• Clergy and staff. Sent in the app and by email to clergy and parish staff. It never reaches lay parishioners. Good for "annual retreat dates announced".
• Targeted group. Choose parishes, roles or a society. Sent in the app. Good for "the parish council meeting moves to Wednesday".

Then write the Subject and the Body, and choose Who receives it: ready-made groups such as everyone in the diocese, clergy only, parish priests only or society heads, or a targeted group.

You can Send now, Schedule for later, or Save as draft and finish it from the broadcast list.

The urgent broadcast

For an emergency, such as cancelling Masses across the diocese, a public safety notice, a natural disaster or a change of bishop, use Urgent broadcasts, then Start an urgent broadcast. The page lists exactly what it does:

• It reaches everyone in the diocese on every channel: the app, email, phone notification, text message and a banner on the public website.
• It ignores quiet hours and parish opt-outs.
• You can send only one every 24 hours.
• It stays in the audit log for good and can't be withdrawn once sent. The only way to correct it is another urgent broadcast.

Choose a reason from a short list, write a title and say why it can't wait. The reason Other needs at least 200 characters.

Who can send it

Only the bishop, or someone he has given that power, can start an urgent notice. EcclesiaOne staff never can. It also opens only once the diocese has been claimed and verified.

A second signature is off by default. If your diocese asks for one under Settings, then How your diocese works, the broadcast waits for a co-signer from the chancery before it goes. The page lists who can sign. If nobody can, give the chancellor role to at least one person first. A broadcast nobody signs in time expires.

Where to find what you sent

Every broadcast stays in your list. Open one to see how many people it reached and how that split by channel. You can't delete a sent broadcast. Urgent broadcasts have their own history, with the tiles Awaiting co-signature, Dispatched, Expired and Cancelled.