Major Update on Pelican+ and the Future of Tradition & Sanity
We are creating something amazing in the world of digital media: come have a look!
Dear Readers:
Happy feast of St. Charles Borromeo! May the Lord raise up more reforming bishops like him.
As I’ve mentioned before, in a little less than a month — as of December 1 — I will be powering down this Substack. It will continue to be online and will give “teasers” of posts, but Tradition & Sanity’s permanent home will be Pelican+, the ultimate digital platform for tradition-loving Catholics that I co-founded with five other bold and brave men: Kennedy Hall, Timothy Flanders, Ed Schafer, Nick Cavazos, and Dan Sevigny.
Since our launch on October 7, we’ve been joined by further collaborators — I’ll tell you more about that just below.
Please take a moment to read this email, as it’s full of glad tidings and practical steps.
What exactly is Pelican+?
Pelican+ an app for use on phone or desktop that brings its users a wealth of traditional Catholic content:
writing, in the Forum section (that’s where Tradition & Sanity resides);
podcasts and videos, in the Stream section, covering topics from theology, liturgy, and spirituality to culture and politics, to home life, parenting, and education;
classic prayers, recited by the collaborators themselves: the rosary in English or in Latin, spoken or chanted, the Divine Office, the Martyrology, litanies and chaplets — plus the full text of Mass propers according to the ’62 or pre-’55 Roman missal;
audio dramas on the saints for younger listeners, with plenty more family-friendly programming on the way;
ebooks and audiobooks on a wide variety of topics, including the Gospels and eventually the entire Douay-Rheims;
a copious library of Gregorian chant — we have, so far, all the albums of the Benedictines of Mary in Gower, Missouri, with more sacred music to come.
Each of these areas will organically grow so that, over time, you’ll be able to find just what you’re looking for — whether it’s a certain hour of the Divine Office, a certain vein of sacred music, or a good story for a long drive. We are adding content daily.
Think of it as Substack + YouTube + Hallow + Daily Wire — except built BY Catholics, FOR Catholics.
There has never been anything like it before.
Moreover, the layout of the app is very intuitive and easy to navigate.
Of course (and to anticipate a kind of objection), no user is expected to view or listen to everything. Rather, you’ll discover favorite writers and programs, favorite prayers, music, and books (incidentally, when you stop listening or reading, the app notes where you left off so you can pick right up next time). Pelican+ was built as a powerful tool for its users’ intellectual, spiritual, and cultural growth.
In this special post, I’d like to take a moment to tell you some of the exciting developments that have been happening in recent weeks at Pelican+. We’ve not been idle!
Celebrating All Saints in style
For this Octave of All Saints, we released a 25-minute video in which Pelican+ contributors share reflections on our favorite saints — how we discovered them (or, often, how they picked us), how they came to our aid, what we learned from them. It’s a thoughtful program, worth watching any time this week. (I talk about why I chose St. Paul as my confirmation saint, and the vow I made to St. Thomas Aquinas.)
The Music of the Benedictines of Gower
If you’ve never listened to the angelic singing of the Benedictines of Mary in Gower, Missouri, you’re in for a treat! They have recorded many acclaimed albums over the years, featuring a selection of chant, polyphony, and hymnody sung with exquisite perfection. The entire library is now available at Pelican+, as you can see in this screenshot:
Documentary on education
Pelican+ is proud to be the exclusive distributor of Miles Vosylius’s hard-hitting, eye-opening documentary on the state of modern education and the classical Catholic alternative. It will air on November 15, available to Premium members. Here’s a 4-minute trailer:
Martyrs and Miracle Men
When we launched Pelican+, we promised family-friendly and educational Catholic entertainment, and we’re delivering. We’ve just released the first four episodes of what promises to be a blockbuster series, “Martyrs and Miracle Men.” These half-hour biographical sketches are done in the manner of the 1930s/40s radio dramas: just voices and sound effects. Pull up a chair, gather round, and enjoy!
Available now: Bl. Miguel Pro; St. Damien of Molokai; St. Thomas More; and St. Catherine Labouré. (*** The Bl. Miguel Pro is available for free in order to acquaint you with the series. ***)
More to come on a regular basis. This is superb content you won’t find anywhere else.
News coverage
Another key growth step is the onboarding of a dynamic duo for commentary on national and world news: Brian McCall and Murray Rundus, with Michael Haynes as our Vatican Correspondent, with accreditation from the Vatican press corps.
Angela Erickson
It brings me great joy to announce another new collaborator, Angela, with whom I worked at LifeSiteNews some years ago. I have watched her independent podcast develop into something really marvelous. She has now decided to bring her knowledge and fervor to Pelican+:
She’s been an activist, a mom, and a Catholic voice unafraid to speak truth in the public square. Now, Angela Erickson brings her insight and fire to Pelican+ with “Life with Angela”! A weekly deep dive into the real-life challenges facing families and faithful Catholics today. Join Angela starting Monday, October 27th, as she equips you to think clearly, live boldly, and defend what matters most — only on Pelican+.
The cofounding collaborators
Needless to say, the six men who started Pelican+ are contributing mightily to this common effort. Here’s just some highlights from two of them:
Kennedy Hall
“Mere Tradition” podcast — same as it has been on YouTube and Substack, but more regular and with higher quality production
A new program called “Mere Tradition and Sanity” with me, where Kennedy and I will discuss theological topics, answer live questions from subscribers, and teach seasonal Gregorian chants
“Terror of Demons” man show with Tim Flanders — a weekly program wherein the Hall and Flanders will discuss topics particularly relevant for Catholic men
A library of audio recordings of encyclicals and public domain Catholic books and a lecture series on Modernism following the work of Pius X
Timothy Flanders
Audio books, such as St. Peter Alcantara’s Finding God through Meditation, St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Meditations for Advent, the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent
“Thank God It’s Monday”: weekly Monday show on saints and liturgy
Roman Martyrology read aloud daily
“Meaning of Catholic”: weekly show, taking up sweeping themes such as:
“Catholic Empire: Hispanidad & Hispanic Catholicism”
“The Lay Apostolate”
“The St. Joseph Dialogos”: friendly debates between opposing viewpoints
“A Father’s Bookshelf”
But I do not want this post to get completely out of hand, so I will stop there!
I don’t relate all of this to overwhelm you. Think of Pelican+ as an environment, like YouTube, Substack, Hallow, or the Daily Wire. Nobody watches, reads, or prays everything at these sites; they find what suits them and their families best.
The difference is that Pelican+ is completely owned and operated by Catholics — indeed, by Catholics who know and love tradition, just as you do. Because it’s our platform, we can’t be deplatformed or shut down. Because it’s ours, we don’t have to have (and will never have) evil or stupid advertising, and we won’t give our money — your money — to liberal causes.
Where YOU Come In
In order for Pelican+ to succeed — and thus, in order for Tradition & Sanity to continue strong as we approach our third year of publishing — it will be crucial for subscribers to this Substack to take the plunge and join Pelican+ during the coming weeks.
I hope that I’ve provided you above with many good reasons to do so!
Here are some instructions for different categories of readers:
Annual Subscribers
If you are an annual subscriber here, you should have received a voucher via email. (If you didn’t get this, and it’s not in spam, or you’d like us to re-send it, please ask team@piouspelican.com and they will email it to you.) The voucher will have the amount of credit you currently have with this Substack, applicable to a new subscription at Pelican+.
Once you have that email, click:
When you select the level of membership (basic, premium, or family), and then move to the checkout page, you can enter there the promotional code we sent you, and your Substack “credit” will be applied to your Pelican+ subscription. Simple as that!
And best of all: once we see your subscription show up at Pelican+, we will disable your payment to this Substack, so that you are not paying twice for the same material. You don’t need to take any further steps.
Monthly Subscribers
If you are a monthly subscriber, all you need to do is click this link:
When you arrive at the checkout page, you’ll have the option to subscribe as a monthly Basic subscriber at $7.99/month. The beauty of this is that you’ll not only gain access to my content but also to that of the other collaborators.
By using the above link, the Pelican+ team will be informed that you have come from my Substack, and we will disable your payments here, so that there is a seamless transition and you don’t have to worry about a thing.
I’d encourage you to consider our Premium subscription at $15.99/month, which includes access to our entire traditional prayer app, e-book library, audiobook library, and much more. There’s also a Family Premium option if you’d like to share access with your household.
Discounts are given for yearly rates.
If you’ve already unsubscribed yourself and gone over to Pelican+, then thank you — nothing more needs to be done!
LASTLY: If you’ve switched to Pelican+ and your Substack subscription was canceled on the back end, you will likely receive an automated message saying something like “Your subscription is coming to an end, sign up again.” There’s no way for me to stop Substack from sending this message out, so please just ignore it.
Free Subscribers
By far the largest category of Tradition & Sanity readers are those who have signed up here for free and who gain access to the free writings I publish.
I’d strongly encourage you to explore Pelican+ and start seeing how it might enrich your life as a Catholic being drawn deeper into tradition.
It’s true that you can also sign up for free at Pelican+ and gain access to a certain amount of material — but why not take out a paid subscription and give it a more serious go? The levels of membership unlock more of its features.
Thank you for helping us to build something truly great, to the glory of God and, Deo volente, the benefit of countless souls.
In Christ the King,
Dr. Peter Kwasniewski
P.S. Here are some questions I’ve been asked:
Q1. Will articles still be delivered by email?
Many readers have contacted me to ask if Pelican+ will push out my Tradition & Sanity articles via email, the way Substack is set up to do. Be assured, we understand the importance of this aspect of Substack and we are working to replicate it within Pelican+. Soon it will be possible to receive a daily or weekly digest of what’s new at Pelican+, or simply to have Tradition & Sanity articles emailed to you when they are published. In short: YES!
I’ll let everyone know when that functionality goes live.
Q2. Will we be able to leave comments, ask questions, etc.?
Yes! Pelican+ is developing a community feature through which authors/podcasters and readers/viewers will be able to communicate with one another. It should be ready quite soon.
Q3. Will your guest contributors come to Pelican+ with you?
Yes! You will continue to see the work of fine writers like John Mac Ghlionn, Angela Cuba, Joseph Shaw, Fr. Thomas Crean, and others at Tradition & Sanity on Pelican+.
Q4. Can we download the app via Apple and Google?
Pelican+ is committed, as a Catholic entity, to standing against big tech tyranny and their exorbitant fees. Apple and Google demand 30% of all subscription revenue processed through their app stores. We refuse to fund platforms that oppose our values.
Because of this principled stance, you cannot subscribe through the native mobile apps. Instead, you must complete your subscription signup through the web version of Pelican+. Once you’ve subscribed via the website, you can then download and use the mobile apps to freely access all content.
If you download the app before subscribing and try to access premium content, you’ll see an “unavailable” button rather than an “upgrade” prompt. This is intentional. Simply go to the website link above to complete your subscription first. Yes, it’s an inconvenience, but it’s the result of refusing to compromise our principles.
Thank you for reading and may God bless you!
I hope you can build a “smart TV” app so people can watch the videos on their televisions instead of whatever else they may be tempted with.
What a beautiful reminder on Saint Charles Borromeo Day!