Elena Thérèse-Rose: Making Catholicism Shareable (Especially on the Web)

“Secondly, I’d say good advice is to gain familiarity with the saints and to perhaps gain some friends among the saints because often they are the best examples.”

On March 28th, Palm Sunday, Merion West editor-in-chief Erich Prince was joined by Elena Thérèse-Rose for a conversation about Catholicism in 2021, with a particular emphasis on discussing her advocacy for the faith on social media, especially on Twitter. She holds a Master’s degree in the Political Economy of Europe from the London School of Economics and previously studied at the University of Leeds. Since converting to Catholicism in 2018, Elena Thérèse-Rose has contributed to various publications, where she has discussed contemporary issues facing the faith. She has also been quoted in outlets such as First Things. In this conversation, she and Erich Prince discuss advice she might offer to people newly entering the Catholic Church, secularism in Europe, and how she—and other Catholics, such as Bishop Robert Barron (of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles)—use social media to share their faith.

Happy Palm Sunday, Elena. So, this is a time of year that many new converts are being welcomed to the Church. And actually one of our friends at Merion West, Kevin [Turner], who is originally from Iran, is converting to Catholicism this week. What advice do you have to these people as someone who yourself converted in the past few years?

First of all, I say congratulations to Kevin, and I wish him all the best for his reception. I also have a friend who’s being baptized this Easter, after many difficult circumstances because, due to the lockdown, it has been difficult for the Easter receptions to go ahead, but there’s been a way for her to be received. So, after Easter, I’m quite excited to attend one of those and see one new member of the London community.