Catholic Prayer App Hallow Sees Biggest Spike in Downloads After Super Bowl Commercial

A still from Hallow's Super Bowl commercial that aired on Feb. 11, 2024. Courtesy of Hallow

The Kansas City Chiefs may have taken home the Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl LVIII after rallying to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, but they’re not the only ones celebrating a recent win. Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow saw its largest spike in users after airing its first-ever Super Bowl commercial during the big game.

“It was the most downloads in a single minute we’d ever seen,” the app’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Alex Jones, told the Catholic News Agency, adding that Hallow was ranking ahead of Netflix on the App Store charts. The app currently holds the number two spot on Apple’s list of “Top Free Apps,” followed by ChatGPT, Threads, and Paramount+. The online marketplace Temu is listed as number one.

Hallow’s 30-second ad stars Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie, the latter of whom played Jesus in the television series “The Chosen.”

At the start of the commercial, Mr. Wahlberg, a devout Catholic, can be seen blessing himself with holy water before entering a church. “God, we take this moment just to give You thanks,” the actor says before encouraging viewers to “stay prayed up” this Lent.

The commercial aired three days before Ash Wednesday and promoted the start of Hallow’s annual Pray40 prayer challenge, which Mr. Wahlberg helps lead.

“For the first time ever during the Super Bowl, we all got to take 30 seconds to give thanks to God,” Mr. Jones said.

“We’ve been blown away by the responses to the spot,” he continued. “We’ve heard from many who were inspired to join us and give prayer a try for the first time in a long time this Lent.”

Hallow App

Founded at the end of 2018, the religious app provides users with audio-guided Bible stories, daily prayers, sleep meditations, music, and community challenges.

Hallow was one of a handful of faith-based entities to air a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl. Others included two ads by the Jesus-focused initiative “He Gets Us,” a spot for the Church of Scientology, and a commercial from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, which was founded by Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots.

According to The New York Times, a coveted 30-second ad spot during the National Football League’s biggest night of the year reportedly cost $7 million.

Mr. Jones told the Catholic News Agency that the commercial “was a huge bet” for the company. “When we were producing the spot we decided really to just focus on making it all about Jesus—just on spending time in prayer with God,” he said.

“It was amazing to see how the spot resonated with so many,” he added. “It was an honor to get to pray together and we’re thrilled to continue to pray together with everyone this Lent.”

In a statement shared to the company’s website, Mr. Jones said the goal of the commercial was to “reach out to as many folks as possible” and “invite them deeper into a relationship with God.”

Celebrities Back Hallow

Mr. Wahlberg and Mr. Roumie serve as “Lent guides” for this year’s 2024 Pray40 challenge.

The pair have both worked with Hallow previously. The latter took part in the app’s 30-day Gospel challenge in 2021, guiding users through the New Testament’s four Gospels, and the former led a series of prayer resources the following year, among other projects. Mr. Wahlberg’s prayer content was made in conjunction with the release of his 2022 film, “Father Stu,” a biographical drama about a boxer-turned-Catholic priest named Stuart Long.

The two actors discussed their motivation behind getting involved with the religious platform during a recent appearance on Fox & Friends.

Mr. Wahlberg said he was “fortunate” to partner with Hallow and noted that he just wanted “to continue to encourage people to grow closer to God.” He said working with the app has allowed him “to contribute as much as [he] possibly can” and use his platform “to encourage people to have a relationship with God.”

Mr. Roumie echoed the actor’s sentiments, noting that Hallow is “filling a need” in media for more faith-based content.

“[T]o see the expression of that in a commercial during the Super Bowl and know that so many people want to get connected to God, want to have a deeper relationship—they want to improve their prayer life. And the fact that Hallow can actually help them achieve that in ways that are so meaningful—it’s just music to my ears,” he said.

Mr. Wahlberg and Mr. Roumie aren’t the only A-listers that Hallow has tapped to help guide prayers or create religious content on its app. Other celebrities to partner with the company include actors Mario Lopez and David Henrie and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, per Slate.

Award-winning actor Liam Neeson has also supported Hallow, reading works from British writer C.S. Lewis for the app’s 2023 Advent Pray25 challenge.