Happy Birthday, ChurchPOP! 🎉
Aug. 11, 2024, marks the 10th anniversary of ChurchPOP. Founder Brantly Millegan officially launched ChurchPOP on Aug. 11, 2014.
Millegan created the brand as a BuzzFeed-style Christian culture website with the tagline, "Make holy all the things!" The website included shareable stories, quizzes, videos, memes, lists, prayer resources, and more.
ChurchPOP began with its English edition in 2014 and was acquired by EWTN in 2015. Upon its founding, Millegan entrusted the website to the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The brand expanded over the last several years with four additional languages: Portuguese (2016), Spanish (2016), Italian (2017), and Hungarian (2024).
ChurchPOP also grew its large social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The social media presence later morphed into a social media-first platform, sharing daily news articles, fun memes, reels, and infographics about popular Catholic topics.
Beginning in 2016, ChurchPOP brand content editor Caroline Perkins led a Facebook LIVE series with the weekly rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet and her show, "Live with Caroline." Perkins now designs graphics and leads the brand's social media efforts.
English editor Jacqueline Burkepile joined the ChurchPOP team in 2018. She began writing and publishing articles on the website, later launching a YouTube series of interviews featuring some of the most popular Catholic actors, singers, and musicians, including Shia Labeouf, Jim Caviezel, David Henrie, Rob Schneider, and Mark Wahlberg.
Burkepile's 2023 interview with Shia LaBeouf garnered national attention, landing on Fox News and the Daily Wire.
This story also earned Burkepile a first-place award from the Catholic Media Association for "Best Use of Video on Social Media in a News Organization."
Below are more fun facts about ChurchPOP in honor of its 10th Anniversary:
The ChurchPOP global team includes Jacqueline Burkepile as the editor of the English edition, Caroline Perkins as the brand content editor of the English edition, Cleiton Ramos as the editor of the Portuguese edition, Victoria Arruda as the assistant editor of the Portuguese edition, Harumi Suzuki as the editor of the Spanish edition, Nuria Chicchon Sara as the social media manager of the Spanish edition, Eleanora Vescovini as the editor of the Italian edition, and Domonkos Pulay as the editor of the Hungarian edition.
