Question 1

What exactly is Vigil and what does it do?

Accepted Answer

Vigil is a managed after-hours answering service built specifically for Catholic parishes and pastorates. It answers every call your parish receives after hours, handles everyday inquiries automatically, and ensures that genuine pastoral emergencies — including requests for Last Rites and Anointing of the Sick — reach the right priest immediately, every time.

Question 2

Is Vigil a real person answering calls, or is it AI?

Accepted Answer

Vigil uses AI to answer calls — but it's AI trained specifically for Catholic ministry, not a generic answering service. It understands sacramental language, recognizes genuine distress, and knows when a human priest is needed. The goal is that every caller feels heard, not processed.

Question 3

What happens when someone calls with a true emergency?

Accepted Answer

Vigil identifies the urgency through natural conversation, confirms with the caller, then immediately calls tonight's on-call priest. Simultaneously, he receives a text with the caller's name, their loved one's location, and what they need. He answers prepared. The caller stays on the line until they're connected.

Question 4

What if the on-call priest doesn't answer?

Accepted Answer

Vigil tries twice, then moves to the backup priest, then the tertiary. Every priest in the pastorate is alerted by text. The caller is never simply abandoned — they're told help has been notified and is on the way.

Question 5

How does Vigil know it's a real emergency?

Accepted Answer

Vigil doesn't rely on a caller pressing a button or saying a trigger word. It listens to the full conversation and detects genuine signals — sacramental language, hospital references, emotional distress, direct requests for a priest. When uncertain, it always escalates. A false alarm costs minutes. A missed emergency is irreversible.

Question 6

What happens to everyday calls — Mass times, office hours, events?

Accepted Answer

Vigil handles them completely without involving any staff or clergy. It draws from a knowledge base built during onboarding and answers accurately on behalf of every parish in your pastorate. Every call is logged and summarized for the parish office each morning.

Question 7

Do I need to replace my phone system for this?

Accepted Answer

No — and this is one of the most important things to understand about Vigil. Your parish phone number stays exactly as it is. Your carrier, your equipment, your existing menu options — none of it changes. The only step required is a simple call-forwarding setting that redirects after-hours calls to Vigil. It takes about five minutes and can be reversed at any time. Vigil works alongside whatever phone system you already have.

Question 8

Does Vigil replace our current auto-attendant menu options?

Accepted Answer

No. Your existing menu options — operations, ministry, extensions — are fully preserved. Vigil simply makes them smarter and adds intelligence to the emergency path. Nothing changes for your parishioners.

Question 9

How difficult is it to set up?

Accepted Answer

One phone setting change — about five minutes — forwards your after-hours calls to Vigil. Beyond that, a single 30-minute onboarding call with our team covers everything. We do the configuration. You provide the information.

Question 10

Is Vigil built specifically for Catholic parishes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Vigil understands the difference between Anointing of the Sick and Last Rites, knows that a deacon cannot administer sacraments, and is trained to handle distressed callers with pastoral warmth — not customer service energy. It was built for this specific ministry context and no other.