Vigil answers the phone so that a priest, not a voicemail, is what a family reaches.
In many parishes, a deacon or a faithful volunteer has carried the emergency line for years — the phone by the bed, the sick calls at 2am, the drive to the hospital to find the on-call priest. When he steps down, the calls don't stop.
Vigil takes over the after-hours line, so the duty doesn't fall back on the pastor alone and no family reaches a voicemail when they need Last Rites.
Vigil asks the caller a few short questions: who it's for, what's needed, and where. When the need is unclear, it treats the call as an emergency.
Vigil calls the on-call priest from one known parish number, so he knows who is calling. When he answers, Vigil briefs him first: who it's for, where they are, what's needed, and the callback number. Then he decides.
Your parish chooses one of two modes. In live connection, the caller stays on the line while Vigil reaches the priest and connects them. In priest-callback mode, the family is told a priest will call them back, and Vigil immediately starts calling priests; when a priest answers and is briefed, he can connect to the family through Vigil or call them back himself.
If he doesn't answer, Vigil moves to the next priest on tonight's list. If no priest is reached, an urgent email alert goes to the parish office and to the Vigil team right away.
Vigil doesn't decide who gets a priest. It makes sure a priest decides.
Mass times, confession times and office questions are answered from your parish's own schedules. When a caller leaves a message, it is emailed to the parish office right away, and every call is logged in your dashboard.
Your parish forwards its after-hours calls to Vigil. Your number and your daytime receptionist stay exactly as they are. Vigil answers in English and Spanish, and our team does the configuration with you.
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