Internet Reacts to Super Bowl's Catholic Hallow App Ad with Mark Wahlberg & Jonathan Roumie
Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs left viewers on the edge of their seats as the tied game went into overtime, resulting in a victory for the Chiefs.
However, amid game excitement, millions of viewers anticipate watching the Super Bowl commercials. Typically, social media users discuss these commercials immediately following the game.
This year, the popular Catholic prayer app Hallow dropped its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, potentially reaching millions of viewers.
The Catholic-themed commercial features Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie and focuses on Hallow's annual Lent Pray40 Challenge.
The 30-second commercial opens with Wahlberg dipping his finger in holy water, making the Sign of the Cross, and entering St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Las Vegas.
“God, we take this moment just to give You thanks. We thank You for this time to come together as a family, as friends, and as a country," Wahlberg says as the scene changes to a family praying before a meal, then to fans cheering in the stands at a game, followed by the U.S. Military kneeling in prayer.
Jonathan Roumie then receives his Ash Wednesday ashes from a priest.
"Help us, Lord, especially this Lent, to continue to grow closer to you. Amen," Wahlberg concludes.
Wahlberg then invites viewers to "join us in prayer this Lent on Hallow."
Watch Hallow's Super Bowl commercial below:
The Internet Reacts to Catholic Prayer App Super Bowl Commercial
Hallow published the commercial on several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, which generated hundreds of viewer comments.
"What a thrill even so that so many souls were just introduced to Hallow!" Catholic author and speaker Emily Wilson said on Instagram. "Praise the Lamb!"
"I saw it," another Instagram user wrote. "Friends in a group chat were freaking out, saying, 'I just saw TV Jesus on a Super Bowl commercial!'"
"Thank you for this beautiful commercial," one YouTube user commented. "Thank you for putting Christ at the forefront. Thank you for showing family and patriotic values. Love you all. Praise Jesus!"
"Yes, we saw it live," another YouTube user wrote. "Our family and everybody gathered loved it. What a great use of tithes, offerings and donations, so that 40 million people can hear maybe for the first time that God loves them and has a plan for them."
Twitter users also published their reactions to the commercial.
One user said, "Glad to see a more appropriate religion-related commercial during the Super Bowl. Mark Wahlberg is a class act. Good for him [for] participating in this ad."
Another user commented, "As a fellow Christian, I’m thankful for anyone that humbly invites others to come together and experience the very essence of God Almighty through prayer. Well done, Mark!"
"Don’t have it but this actually sounds promising for many who want to feel as if they’re connected to one another," another Twitter user said.
"Quite impressed this ran at the Super Bowl but even more impressed that Mark Wahlberg was the face behind it. Awesome."