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Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow has partnered with actor Mark Wahlberg, its biggest name yet, to provide exclusive content for the Chicago-based startup.
Mark Wahlberg attends All Saints Chapel at Carroll College on behalf of the film FATHER STU on April 04, 2022 in Helena, Montana. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images for Sony Pictures/Getty Images)
Hallow, the world’s most downloaded and used Catholic app, has released a new set of resources related to the actor’s latest movie, Father Stu, which hits theaters on Wednesday. Wahlberg put his own money into the production of the film, which is based on the true story of Fr. Stuart Long, a boxer-turned-priest. starring Mel Gibson.
Though Wahlberg is a devout Catholic and hasn’t shied away from sharing his faith, Father Stu is his first religious project. When the founders of Hallow — who are huge fans of Wahlberg — heard about it, they reached out to him to see how they could help people discover the film, while also helping people create a habit of daily prayer build up.
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“I was really inspired by his openness in sharing his faith and morning prayer routine,” Hallow co-founder Alex Jones told FOX Business of Wahlberg. “He has given many lectures about how important his faith has been to him throughout his career.”
Mario Lopez attends the 92nd Annual Academy Awards on February 92, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
According to Jones, the deal with Wahlberg is definitely the biggest and most expansive partnership Hallow has had in recent memory, but the app has teamed up with a handful of other high-profile actors, starting with Jonathan Roumi, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, and is one of their main content creators. Actor Mario Lopez has also created content for the app.
Hallow has enjoyed a meteoric rise since its inception in 2018 at the hands of Jones, Erich Kerekes and Alessandro DiSanto.
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A year ago, the app raised $12 million in a Series A round led by venture capital firm General Catalyst and another $40 million after a Series B round that included billionaire Peter Thiel, Drive Capital, Teamworthy Ventures and Narya attended VC, Contrary Capital, Uncork Capital, Susa Ventures and Scott Malpass – the only American appointed to the Vatican Bank Board of Directors by Pope Francis.
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Marco Bello/Getty Images)
To date, the app has seen around 2.5 million downloads, with 65 million prayers completed and a 700% year-over-year increase in the number of sessions completed.
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Hallow didn’t just appeal to Catholics, however. Jones says they hear from countless customers from diverse faith backgrounds across other Christian denominations — including Jewish, Muslim, and agnostic users — who use the app to find peace or grow deeper in their spirituality. When they checked a few months ago, the user who had performed the most prayers on the app was an evangelical woman.
“It’s just been a blessing to travel with people and watch God at work,” Jones said of Hallow’s success. “Obviously he did all the heavy lifting here.”