For the past few months, I’ve been on the hunt for stories at The Basilica of Saint Mary. Stories can breathe life into a marketing plan, and I am looking for distinctive and relevant stories, the ones that get people talking and build relationships. Shared stories are key marketing and communications tools, stories like these:
Storytelling makes an emotional connection.
The Basilica recently hosted a discussion titled, “Hope and Healing: The Promise of Catholic Social Teaching for a Divided America.” It featured Rob Vischer, President of the University of St. Thomas, and Marcus Cole, Dean of the Notre Dame Law School and they explored the power of faith and values-based education. That description alone is compelling, but there is more to this story.
The program was the first in what will become a series – The Reverend David T. Link Lecture Series. David T. Link served as the dean of the University of Notre Dame Law School, and later, he was the first dean of the University of St. Thomas School of Law. When his wife passed away, he entered the seminary, was ordained a priest, and went on to serve in prison ministries. Today, his son Dave Link, a long-time Basilica parishioner, continues that tradition of prison ministries here with the Christian Life group. (He is also an adjunct professor at St. Thomas Law in perhaps the most exciting area of law, tax!)
Storytelling creates engagement.
The stained-glass windows in The Basilica of Saint Mary are beautiful and original to the building. In the first phase of the restoration project, they will be evaluated for purposes of preservation. But again, there is more to this story.
The upper windows tell the story of Jesus through the eyes of his mother Mary and directly below each one are windows with stories from Hebrew scripture that foretold those events. Monsignor Reardon was involved and signed off on each design and they were built by Thomas J. Gaytee, who had worked with the Tiffany studio. Decades of candles, incense, and people have left the windows quite dirty; Trustee Tom Paul shared a story at a restoration information session that when he ran his fingers down one of the glass panels, they were totally black with soot! An example of a restored window can be found in the restoration mockup in the back of church. The window that has been cleaned sparkles! The information session that Tom spoke at included an invitation for interested folks to become Restoration Ambassadors; they will receive an in-depth briefing on the facets of the restoration and regular updates as the restoration progresses. To learn more about the Restoration Ambassadors, contact me!
Storytelling invites us to reflect.
Our daughter Maggie gave me a wonderful long-sleeved t-shirt, one of those perfect t-shirts for gardening this time of year, that says:
AVILA
LISIEUX
CALCUTTA
Reformer | Doctor | Missionary
It’s a bit of a Catholic, inside baseball thing and showed how well Maggie knew that I find these three saints, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. Therese de Lisieux, and Saint Teresa of Calcutta, so inspiring.
Teresa of Calcutta once said, “If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.”
As I work with colleagues and parishioners to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for The Basilica sharing the stories that mark our incredible parish will be at the heart of that plan. We have more stories to tell, more often, and in more and different ways. What an exciting time for all of us here at the Basilica to continue to add that fuel and share our messages!
Julie Craven
Director of Marketing