Vincenzo Randazzo prepares for a livestreaming event at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul. TOM HALDEN | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

In April, Vincenzo Randazzo livestreamed an hourlong video Facebook discussion with Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens on the COVID-19 pandemic, prayer and a range of other topics. He called it “Quarantine with Cozzens,” and he did a second, similar interview in May.

The positive response prompted him to host two other discussions — one with a Catholic nurse on the pandemic and another with a young Black Catholic following the May 25 police-involved death of George Floyd, an African American, in Minneapolis. Randazzo solicited questions via social media from Catholics ahead of the discussions and invited typed questions during the livestream.

On Sept. 24, Randazzo, 31, hosted a conversation with Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun, pastor of St. Maron Maronite Catholic Church in Minneapolis, on the world’s response to the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut that killed at least 200 people, injured more than 6,500, damaged and destroyed homes and businesses. The discussion followed a similar format but has a new name: The Upper Room.

The name is a sign that Randazzo’s occasional videocast series is here to stay.

Since airing, The Upper Room edition with Chorbishop Maroun has attracted more than 2,000 views. During the discussion, people typed in questions, and the moderator and guest addressed them as part of their conversation.

The evangelization manager for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Office of Marriage, Family and Life, Randazzo sees The Upper Room as a chance to reflect on what’s going on in the world from a Catholic perspective.

“The Catholic imagination is often divorced from everything else,” he said. “People seem to put it in a box and open it on Sunday.”

But using and stretching the Catholic imagination brings light and life to all topics, he said.

“As Catholics, let’s have a discussion and invite others to be a part of it,” said Randazzo, a Michigan native fluent in Spanish who studied for the priesthood and graduated in philosophy and Catholic Studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He has held a variety of roles in ministry, at St. Stephen in Minneapolis, the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and in the archdiocese, including planning the young adult trip as part of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s and Bishop Cozzens’ January “ad limina” trip to Rome.

Jean Stolpestad, director of Marriage, Family and Life, said, “The Upper Room is a place to address what’s happening in the world, in the moment, through a Catholic lens.”

That view includes the need to respect human dignity in a way that leads to action, perhaps through prayer, a new way of thinking, outreach and kindness, “bridging a gap, mending a fence or building a pathway,” Stolpestad said.

The Catholic-centered, monthly video-cast discussion combines evangelization with catechesis, in a relaxing format that gets people involved and reaches them where they’re at right now — online, where so much work and socializing is taking place, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, Randazzo said.

Sally Shoubash, 26, watched The Upper Room conversation Sept. 24 after receiving a Facebook notification from her parish, St. Maron, that Chorbishop Maroun was about to go live on The Upper Room. The livestream was a great opportunity to connect more deeply, Shoubash said, especially after the pandemic prevented her from attending Mass for months. With precautions, she has recently returned to public worship, she noted.

Shoubash plans to watch The Upper Room again.

“It was great to see the back-and-forth of questions and answers. And to see how many people were watching the video, from different churches,” Shoubash said. “Lots of people learned a lot. I learned a lot.”

THE UPPER ROOM

The next conversation with Vincenzo Randazzo is Oct. 22 with Teresa Collette, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and director of the school’s Prolife Center. Moderator Randazzo said he and Collette will discuss the nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court of Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic, and the Nov. 3 general election.

People can watch for The Upper Room and receive notifications about it on the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Facebook page and its YouTube channel.