Alumnus John Grosso Chosen for Vatican Communications Project
John Grosso uses his skills and talent to improve the Church’s social media reach
Sacred Heart University alumnus John Grosso ’17 has joined a team of 16 people drawn from around the world for a Vatican project, “Faith Communications in the Digital World.”
Grosso is the director of digital media for the Diocese of Bridgeport, where he has worked since 2015. He is responsible for the diocesan presence on the web, and he assists Bishop Frank Caggiano with his social media posts. The other young communications professionals that the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communications selected hail from Cambodia, Costa Rica, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the United States.
“It almost doesn’t feel real,” said Grosso of his appointment. “It’s amazing to think that the kid who was doing his master’s at night at SHU, dreaming of what he could do with his degree, wound up working on a Vatican project,” Grosso said. “It’s not the direction that I saw everything taking, but I’m very grateful that it has.”
“I was elated to get the email,” he said. “I had this strong sense of peace, of ‘This is where I’m meant to be.’ God needs me to give of my talents and receive the expertise of everyone else who was chosen. That feeling has only struck me a few times in my life: when I walked onto the Boston College campus for the first time, when I met my wife and when I first went to SHU.
“It’s absolutely fascinating to see the scope of expertise on this project,” he continued. “We’ve had to be malleable because of the pandemic, but whatever ultimately happens is going to be remarkable, because there is so much talent working on this.” The group currently meets weekly on Zoom but plans to work together in Rome for a few weeks in May. Their first project involves strategic proposals on communications plans for various Vatican offices.
The project’s final goal is to create realistic best practices for Church communications that address issues with social or digital media. “The challenge is to figure out the best way to communicate something that’s perfect—the Gospels—on something that’s imperfect—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the internet,” said Grosso.
Grosso earned his master’s degree in communication with a concentration in corporate communication and public relations from Sacred Heart in 2017. He was drawn to the program “because of the professors’ level of expertise. We had some really remarkable, experienced teachers who were leaders in their field and who could give you not only the theories for the subject, but also the nuts and bolts of how it actually works. That sort of wisdom is invaluable.”
Lori Bindig Yousman, chair of communication studies and associate professor, who teaches in the master’s program, described Grosso as a thoughtful and creative student. “John was dedicated to using his digital media and leadership skills to grow the reach and strengthen the connection of the Diocese of Bridgeport,” she said.
“I love telling people that I went to SHU. I find myself going back to what I learned through my experience at Sacred Heart multiple times a day. To have a program that was so cutting-edge and is still relevant a few years later is remarkable,” said Grosso. “I know the education is good and I know the people are good. What more could you ask for?”