The monks of holy name province, that 40 staff parishes and schools, canteens and food centers along the East Coast, as well as groups in Peru and Tokyo, are among the few religious groups that offer this type of digital service.
The initiative "prayer text plan to a Franciscan Friar", which is described as faith at hand, is a new way for Roman Catholics to connect.
'' People are always saying to the friars, ' can you say a prayer for me? ' O' may remember my mother who have cancer? ' "Father David Convertino, the Executive Director of New York-based development for the Franciscan friars of the Holy name province, said in an interview.
"I was thinking that a lot of people all text now, even more than email, so why not have people have the opportunity to ask us to pray for them ... by texting".
The faithful simply text the word ' prayer ' to 306-44, free of charge. A welcome message from friars out along with a box to type in your request. When it is sent, the sender receives a reply.
The intentions are received on a website and will be included in the prayers of the brothers collectively twice a day and to church.
Is one of several ways that the monks are hoping to reach a younger audience, increase the number of the faithful and spread the faith. They have already renewed their website and the next step is moving to Facebook and Twitter.
"If the Pope can tweet, monks can text," said Father David.
The brothers also have a presence on LinkedIn and I've been streaming some of their Church services.
"We're trying," said Father David when asked if the brothers well into the digital age, adding that they were "run crazily until well into the 19th century."
Most of the 325 friars, whose average age is about 60, are comfortable with the technology.
"We have a brother who is 80 SMS today," said Father David.
The brothers are following the example of 85-year-old Pope Benedict XVI, the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, which the Vatican said had 2.1 million followers on Twitter just eight days after sending his first tweet.
The Pontiff tweets in several languages, including Arabic and plans to add Chinese and Latin to them.
"We're really excited about this job," said Father David, about the new program. "I think we'll be able to keep up (with all intentions). That's what we do, we pray for the people. "
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Edited by Piya Sinha-Roy)
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