“Prêtre Academy” (the Priests’ Academy): this is the name of an initiative launched by the diocese of Besançon a few days ago: a sort of reality show, starring three recently-ordained priests. It is a series of videos about the daily life of three priests who are on a mission in the diocese. The videos are posted on a dedicated website, www.pretres-academy.com, set up by the diocese, containing newsletters, pictures, surveys, etc. The initiative, mostly targeted to young people, has been a real hit: since its launch on June 12th, the videos which can also be downloaded from YouTube or other portals have been already hit 150,000 times and the third episode has already been broadcast online on June 28th. The videos show for instance the newly-ordained priest Franck Raffio (30 years old) as he prays or visits an artist or writes down his thoughts in a diary. The other priests, Michel and Christophe, are filmed by the video camera in their daily life. One can also interact with the priests by posting their questions on the website. The avowed aim of he diocese is to make priesthood known so as to cope with the drop in callings.
