Digital Devotion

Using the online components of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, including the website and social media channels, this chapter explores how Marian shrines are occupying digital and e-spaces. This chapter describes these spaces, analyzes the relationship between digital and in-person shrines, and considers how virtual shrines have blurred the line between devotional practice and entertainment. E-shrines raise important questions about the overlap between digital and physical spaces within Catholic practice. Attuned to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter argues that digital devotion has become an increasingly important practice that has pushed Marian shrines to provide opportunities to cultivate devotional modes via the Internet.