Austria’s Catholic Church is trying a new strategy to attract the faithful: advertising its churches as places to cool off in a record heatwave.
As Austrians sweltered in temperatures close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Catholic news agency Kathpress surveyed the country’s houses of worship Tuesday to find the coolest one.
“When air conditioning and the cool wetness of a lake or open-air pool are beyond reach, Austria’s churches can provide cool and spiritual refreshment at the same time,” it said.
Vienna’s chilliest church was a mere 24 degrees, with the crypt of St. Stephen’s Cathedral a frigid 14 degrees, Kathpress’s survey found.
First off I always knew Catholic churches were cooler.
So we have gone from preaching hellfire and damnation to preaching of an available cool climate? Still maybe this is innovative advertising to get them in the church door to be evangelized?
Although I find it rather cheesy and off-putting.
Perhaps some of their rejected ad mottos were:
- Turn the dog days of Summer into the God days of Summer.
- Hell is hot, our church is not
- Why not get both AC and JC?
- Jesus will set you freon.
2 comments
We offer the Body, Blood, Soul and frigidity of Jesus Christ.
Cheesey and off putting to a devout Catholic maybe. But devout Catholics should not be the target audience to get ‘new’ folks in the pews.