A priest, not a voicemail, is what a family reaches.
When someone is dying at 2am in a metro Atlanta hospital, the family calls the parish. Vigil answers the after-hours line so that call reaches your on-call priest instead of a voicemail box. Routine calls are answered too, and messages are emailed to the parish office right away.
Families call from hospitals across metro Atlanta, including:
Vigil asks where the person is and the room number, and the priest hears it before he decides.
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.
Spanish-speaking parishes are common across metro Atlanta. Vigil answers callers in English and Spanish.
Your parish forwards its after-hours calls to Vigil. Your number and your daytime receptionist stay exactly as they are. On-call nights follow Eastern time.