Delaware priest goes ‘on the wired side’ to spread God’s word

DOVER, Del. (CNS) — "Greetings, everybody, this is Father Stanislao, and I welcome you to another issue of ‘The Daily Walk Heavenwards.’"

That’s how the soothing, Italian-accented voice of Father Stanislao Esposito welcomed listeners to one recent episode of his spiritual "podcast."

The associate pastor of Holy Cross Church in Dover, Father Esposito — who goes by "Father Stanislao" on the podcast — uses the Internet medium to preach God’s message of love.

That has been the priest’s mission since young Stanislao — inspired by a book given to him by the pastor of his parish near Naples, Italy — would read parables from the Gospels to his fourth-grade classmates during recess.

Father Esposito, 37, entered the digital world in 1994, developing a Web site to expand on a Bible study group he had formed. Last summer a seminarian friend suggested he try a podcast.

Early one morning in mid-November, in his bedroom in the rectory at Holy Cross, he produced his first podcast.

"It was recorded at 5 o’clock; I had the 6 o’clock Mass," he told The Dialog, newspaper of the Wilmington Diocese. "I was whispering into the microphone so I did not wake up the other priests."

Since then, each of the approximately 50 episodes of "The Daily Walk Heavenwards" has begun with an invitation to join Father Esposito on a walk toward heaven. He reads the day’s Gospel, provides a short reflection and offers a prayer.

Some days he will talk about items of current interest. Sometimes he will answer questions from listeners or play some recorded music.

Weekday podcasts run about 10 minutes and are produced and posted on Web sites Monday through Thursday most weeks. Sunday podcasts are longer but rarely exceed 30 minutes. Once on the Web, the podcasts can be downloaded to iPods or MP3 players around the world.

Father Esposito said he has heard from listeners across the United States and from Europe. "I feel like my parish is way larger than Holy Cross, and Holy Cross is a large parish" with more than 3,200 families, he said.

Marty O’Toole of Cleveland listens to "The Daily Walk Heavenwards" while driving to work.

"It’s like being able to dial up Father Stanislao at my convenience for a bit of theological teaching with a personal touch," O’Toole said. "He doesn’t burden his content with topics related to challenges or controversies in the church; he just talks simply to the Catholic message and challenges us each to have a personal relationship with God."

Closer to home, Lisa Smith of Clayton, Del., checks for a new episode every morning. "It is wonderful to be able to start the day with prayer and the Liturgy of the Word," she said.

"Father Stanislao really brings the Scripture to life, and his meditations give me something to reflect upon throughout the day," added Smith, who attends a Bible study group that Father Esposito leads at Holy Cross.

Podcasts are just the latest way Father Esposito has found to communicate the Gospel message.

In Italy, before he came to the United States in 1992 as a novice of the Holy Cross brothers, "I used to do voiceovers. I used to do theater, musicals, play the guitar, whatever it took to bring out the fact that God loves you," he said.

"There are so many ways to minister," said Father Esposito, who left the Brothers of the Holy Cross in 1998, then taught at St. Peter the Apostle School in New Castle before entering the seminary. He was ordained in 2003.

He would like to start a book club and a program called Words of Life, which each month takes a sentence from Scripture and asks members to make it a part of their lives. Words of Life is part of Focolare, a Catholic lay spirituality movement.

The priest, who is also chaplain at St. Thomas More Academy in Magnolia, hopes to have several podcasts on "The DaVinci Code" ready before May, when the movie based on the novel is released. He also envisions a commentary on the "Our Father" and programs to help people learn ways to pray.