Amid the constant ebb and flow of Instagram posts, reels and stories that flutter across screens in a matter of minutes, BigAppleCatholic provides a scrapbook of hope-bearing and inspiring creations, employing digital art as a means of evangelization.

Mariana Pimiento, 27, founder of BigAppleCatholic — an Instagram page with more than 22,000 followers and website devoted to offering refuge and encouragement “on the pilgrimage Home” — shares inspiring Catholic art and writing with her audience.

“When I share, it’s an overflow for people to enjoy,” she told the Register.

Pimiento, who is a digital marketing specialist, has made a point to never make this apostolate her full-time job, she said. She doesn’t plan her posts, but waits for the Holy Spirit to inspire her — reinforcing the idea of letting the work overflow.

“It’s all about the Holy Spirit. It’s trusting that the frequency or the type of content, whatever it is, if it reaches one person, that’s enough,” Pimiento said. “I can feel the difference when I’m trying to reach for something or when I’m feeling insecure.”

BigAppleCatholic is fruit from Pimiento’s hope to show others that it doesn’t matter where you live — in her case, the Big Apple — or who you are: You can be Catholic and live your life to the fullest.

“It’s really evolved from the renown to really be a witness, kind of like Mary Magdalene, first experiencing the Resurrection and then sharing that with people,” she said.

Pimiento has also drawn inspiration from Pope St. Paul VI and his quote, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than he does to teachers, and if he listens to teachers, it’s because they are witnesses.”

Alongside her Instagram account, Pimiento launched a shop that features beautifully colored crewnecks with embroidered phrases, such as “Be not afraid!” and “Ecce Agnus Dei.”

“The shop came out of a moment of desolation,” she said. “I was playing around with a sweatshirt for myself, and then they all came to me in 48 hours. What began to unravel was, ‘I need these reminders every day. I need something that is going to ground me.’”

Pimiento seeks to evangelize to those on Instagram, but, more importantly, to be a friend and guide. Having studied business administration at The King’s College in New York City, she has also served as a FOCUS missionary.

“For our generation, social media isn’t a platform but a social language. There are trends that happen, and you can just absorb them in a way that maybe older generations don’t. I think that context is really important, because we almost don’t think about it.”

Pimiento strives to create at the Lord’s pace, not wanting to rely on herself and perfectionism, she said.

“It’s incredibly vulnerable; the biggest challenge is knowing that people who know me are going to read it,” Pimiento said. “How do I not let the pace of social media change how my art comes out?”

As an artist, Pimiento said she often reflects on how art and beauty inspire people to do his work, which St. John Paul II describes in his “Letter to Artists”: “[T]he Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God.”

“I knew this instinctively: Art and beauty has been a part of our culture. It’s what we look forward to; it’s what gets us through life,” Pimiento said. “As that began to mature, I began to really understand the power of beauty lifting us up. There’s so much power to the artist. It can bring us up to really high places of sainthood or down to really low places.”

Pimiento truly brings her audience upwards and onwards, inspiring thousands with captivating prayers, reflections and works of art.

“One of the most gratifying things to hear is, ‘I’m glad I’m not the only one. What a relief,’” Pimiento said. “It’s beautiful to reflect on. If someone’s having a rough day, maybe that is the start of them turning back to the Lord. One post they took to prayer helped them see the Lord or themselves differently.”