Wed Oct 19, 11:33 PM

Once the 'Facebook Father' .. now the 'Blogging Bishop'

Genevieve Beauchemin | CTV News
Bishop Tom Dowd
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Note from editor: On tonight's edition of Canadian Originals on CTV National News at 11pm, Montreal bureau chief Genevieve Beauchemin brings us the fascinating story of Tom Dowd --  once known as the 'Facebook Father' and now the 'Blogging Bishop'.

Tune in to see how this charismatic man of the cloth has used social media to extend his ecumenical reach.

Do you know a 'Canadian Original' we should be featuring? Please email us your ideas at originals@bellmedia.ca

Here is Genevieve's blog:




I had read about Bishop Tom Dowd, and was intrigued, hoping I would one day get to do an interview with him and discuss his connection to the Internet.

At the time, he was simply Father Dowd, a Montreal Anglophone priest some followers had taken to calling the Facebooking Father.

At first glance, I was expecting, I must admit, an impersonal presence on the Internet. As I perused his blog, I found, a rare glimpse into the daily life of a man of the cloth. Not too personal, of course, but giving details of daily living many would be curious to know.

He was ordained in September, the youngest Bishop in Canada. In the twenty-four hours leading up to the big moment in his life, he live-tweeted. Telling his followers (those online) about taking a walk in the sun after lunch and praying, about putting on fuchsia socks. Where the heck do you buy fuchsia socks many had asked ... Dowd had ordered them online from a company in Florida.

When I did meet him, he told me about wanting to make being a priest more human, and about the power of the Internet to reach a larger community.

He showed me a video. An Internet user had written and recorded a song for his ordination, and posted it online for him.


Another blog reader took the pictures of Bishop Dowd and made a montage to the song.

"There were no meetings to discuss how to do this, it didn't take a strategy plan, a session to make this happen," he told me, amazed at the result.

"That is the power of the Internet."

A power he says, he hopes he can use for good.



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