Plopping down on the couch has never been so spiritual.
FORMED is a new multimedia platform created by the Augustine Institute that gives Catholics instant access to all kinds of Catholic content, including video, audio and books. Born out of a partnership between the Augustine Institute, Lighthouse Catholic Media and Ignatius Press, FORMED launched Sept. 1 and already boasts 40,000 users worldwide.
In addition to all of the Augustine Institute in-house video series such as Symbolon, Beloved and Reborn, FORMED also features much of the Lighthouse Catholic Media catalog as well as lots of digital books from Ignatius Press. They were also able to secure Bishop Robert Barron’s Catholicism series through Word on Fire.
It’s been affectionately referred to as a Catholic “Netflix.”
“You have the best Catholic teachers, authors and speakers coming together in a very entertaining, riveting and transforming way,” said Steve Pries, director of parish programming for the Augustine Institute.
FORMED makes it very easy for parishes to have access to great Catholic content they can use to teach their parishioners as part of their catechesis education. In fact, providing curriculum to parishes quickly and effectively was an important factor in the creation of FORMED.
“FORMED was the way to make [content] very accessible,” said Justin Leddick, a video production specialist for the Augustine Institute. Leddick has played a crucial role in the creation of all of the Augustine Institute’s video content.
There are over 1000 parishes worldwide using FORMED. Parishes can subscribe to FORMED for $139.99 per month, and in addition to using the content FORMED provides for their own programs and classes, they’ll be given an access code they can then give to their parishioners, who can then use FORMED for their own personal use. Individuals can also subscribe to FORMED for $9.99 per month.
“At first glance it seems like an easy way to plug into the parish programs, but it’s really so much more,” Pries said.
The FORMED platform was intentionally designed to allow for users to easily access all of its content from all kinds of devices. In an increasingly digital world, this allows for FORMED to compete with other forms of media and still proclaim the Gospel accurately and authentically.
“We’re so blessed to be able to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the digital world,” Pries said. “Anyone around the world can get in and have immediate access to some of the best teachings of the church in one of the most entertaining ways.”
To learn more about FORMED and subscribe, visit formed.org.
