Would you like to have your home parish’s schedule at hand at all times, even without an internet connection? Are you planning a pilgrimage and want to keep track of the churches you’d like to visit? Or would you like to keep a record of every church that has been part of your journey of faith, from the one where you were baptized to the last one you stepped into while traveling? The Favorites feature in the Catholic Mass Times app was built for exactly this.
This guide covers what the Favorites section is, how to turn it on, and how to use each of its three lists.
If you don’t have it yet, you can download the Catholic Mass Times app free for iOS and Android. With more than 110,000 churches across 200 countries, it’s the largest and most up-to-date database in the world for finding Mass times near you. Download it here.
1. What is the Favorites section in the Catholic Mass Times app?
Favorites is the feature that lets you save churches into personal lists so you can reach them straight away, without hunting for them on the map every time. Unlike a one-off search, the churches you save as favorites stay available even without an internet connection, which matters a great deal if you travel to areas with poor signal or simply want your Mass times on hand whatever happens.
It works just as well for everyday use as for the long view: your home parish, the pilgrimages you’re planning, and a spiritual record of the churches you’ve visited over the course of your life.
2. Where is the Favorites icon in the app?
The Favorites icon is a heart, and it sits along the bottom of the main screen between the Nearby and Online tabs. Tap it and the Favorites section opens with three tabs: My Parishes, Want to Visit, and Been There.
You can also add a church to your favorites straight from its detail screen. Next to each parish name there’s a heart icon, and tapping it saves that church to your list without leaving the page.
3. How do I turn on Favorites?
To start using Favorites, you’ll first need to sign in with your first name and email address. Tap Create free account, or Sign in if you already have one. The app sends a code to your inbox, and entering it on the following screen completes the process.
You only have to do this once. From then on, your favorites lists are stored in your account.
4. What are the three Favorites lists and what is each one for?
The app sorts your favorite churches into three separate collections, each one made for a different moment in your life of prayer.
- My Parishes: This is the list for your home parish and the churches you go to often. Saving a church here puts its Mass Times, Confessions, and Adoration schedules a couple of taps away, even with no internet connection.
- Want to Visit: This is the list for planning future pilgrimages and visits. If you’ve heard about a shrine you’d love to see, or you’re putting together a trip and want to note down the churches worth stopping at, this list keeps them all organized in one place. It turns a vague intention into something you can actually plan around.
- Been There
This is the list for keeping a record of the churches that are part of your journey of faith: where you were baptized, where you were married, where you made a pilgrimage, or where you went to Mass while traveling. You can go on collecting the churches you’ve visited and then see them gathered together by tapping World View, which places them all on a world map you can pan across and zoom into. On iPhone, Apple’s 3D Flyover maps make this genuinely striking in the major cities.
5. How do I add a church to my Favorites?
From the main map, tap the church you’d like to save, and on its detail screen tap the heart icon next to the parish name. You’ll then be able to choose which of the three lists it belongs in. Until you’ve added your first church to a list, the app tells you so with a simple note: the churches you mark as favorites will appear here.
6. Why are Favorites so useful?
Saving your favorite churches means you find the Mass times you need faster every time, without repeating the same search over and over. It also helps you order your spiritual life with more intention: planning a pilgrimage well ahead, keeping your parish’s schedule at hand even when the signal drops, or simply pausing to look at a map of all the places where God came out to meet you in the Eucharist.
Want to learn more about the Catholic Mass Times app? These articles may help:
- How Does the Catholic Mass Times App Work? Full Guide: Everything about the Catholic Mass Times app, from finding Mass times today to filters, favorites, and much more, whether you’re at home or traveling.
- How Do I Request an Uber or Lyft to Get to Mass From the App?: Request an Uber, Lyft, or Cabify to get to Mass in one tap, with the church’s address already loaded as your destination. No copying, no explaining.
- How Do I Share a Church’s Mass Times With a Friend?:Share a church’s Mass times from the app via WhatsApp or social media. Help your friends get to Mass and receive the sacraments more often.
- How Do I Find Mass Times at Catholic Churches Near Me?: Filters in the Catholic Mass Times app to find Mass, Confession, or Adoration today, by time, day, or language, at churches near my location.
How do I save my favorite parishes in the app?
Tap your parish on the main map and, on its detail screen, tap the heart icon next to the church name. Choose the My Parishes list to keep it at hand at all times, even without an internet connection.
Do I need an account to use Favorites?
Yes. To save churches to any of the three lists you’ll need to sign in with your first name and email address. A code arrives by email, and entering it in the app completes the process.
What's the difference between Want to Visit and Been There?
Want to Visit is for noting churches and shrines you’d like to see in the future, whether as part of a pilgrimage or a trip. Been There is for keeping a record of the churches you’ve already been to, such as where you were baptized, where you were married, or a Mass you attended while traveling.
Can I see my favorite parishes without an internet connection?
Yes. The churches saved in My Parishes remain available offline, which helps a great deal when you travel to areas with poor signal, or when you simply want to check a schedule without depending on a connection.
How do I see all the churches I've visited on a map?
Inside the Been There list, tap World View and the app gathers every church you’ve added onto a world map you can pan across and zoom into. On iPhone, Apple’s 3D Flyover maps make the experience even better in the major cities.
Can I add a church to more than one list?
Yes. You can keep the same church in different lists depending on what you need, marking it as Want to Visit while you plan the trip, for instance, and then moving it to Been There once you’ve been to Mass there.
What if I haven't added any churches to Favorites yet?
The app lets you know with a note in each empty list, telling you that the churches you mark as favorites will appear there. You can start adding them at any point from the main map.
