‘Rosary In A Year’ Podcast Debuts At Number One, Topping Joe Rogan, Dateline

In another win for Christian content in mainstream culture, Ascension Press’ “Rosary in a Year” podcast debuted at No. 1 on Apple Podcasts this week, beating out the world’s most popular podcaster, Joe Rogan.

“Rosary in a Year,” hosted by Father Mark-Mary Ames, is a sequel to Ascension’s 2021 breakout hit “The Bible in a Year,” which is hosted by Father Mike Schmitz.

The prayer-focused podcast recently released to stellar reviews and landed at the top spot in All Categories for Apple Podcasts on Monday, and remains the No. 1 podcast in Religion & Spirituality.

Courtesy of Ascension

In a press release sent to The Daily Wire, Fr. Mark-Mary said people today are thirsting for God.

“The world offers so much, but we want God,” he said. “In 1979, when the newly-elected Pope John Paul II was returning to communist-controlled Poland for the first time as the Holy Father, in response to his words, the crowd of over 1 million people cried out, ‘We want God! We want God! We want God.’ I can’t help but see this cry being echoed by the millions of people who have participated in ‘Bible in a Year,’ ‘Catechism in a Year,’ and now ‘Rosary in a Year.'”

The interest in and popularity of all types of Christian-focused content has skyrocketed in the past five or so years. For example, “The Bible in a Year,” which is the Rosary podcast’s predecessor,  launched in January 2021, and within 48 hours it had similarly skyrocketed to the number one slot on Apple Podcasts.

“There’s this sense and this hunger in people that says, not only do I want to understand life, I want to understand reality, but also I want to understand what God has to say about this,” Fr. Mike previously told The Daily Wire about the podcast’s success.

There’s also the Catholic meditation and prayer app “Hallow,” which made history by landing at the number #3 spot on the App Store. The Hallow app has connected literally millions of people in prayer, Scripture, and meditation, and continues to be a top-rated app.

The popular show “The Chosen” is also evidence of the Christian content boom. The show, which follows the life of Jesus and his followers, is one of the highest-grossing crowd-funded entertainment projects of all time, bringing in $10 million dollars from donors.

And there’s still more to come. “Passion of the Christ: Resurrection,” which is the sequel to Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” is scheduled to begin filming in 2025.

Related: God’s ‘Not Done With Our Country’: The Faith-Based Boom In New Media