Gwen Stefani Teams Up With Catholic App For Upcoming 'Prayer' Campaign - And The Internet Is Confused

The latest chapter in singer Gwen Stefani’s reinvention from pop queen to country darling has the internet feeling confused.

Earlier this week, the No Doubt frontwoman and wife of Blake Shelton shocked fans by teaming up with the Catholic prayer mobile app, Hallow, for their upcoming holiday campaign.

The Grammy-winning Stefani, 55, joins singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle, contemporary Christian artist Matt Maher, and Nashville-based worship leader Sarah Kroger to lead the online challenge for the mobile app.

Hallow defines the basis of the campaign as a means to, “prepare your heart for Christmas and rediscover the wonder of Christ’s coming into this world and our [hearts]."

Stefani’s involvement in the Hallow campaign is a stark juxtaposition to how many of us were first introduced to the Orange County native in the late 90s. Though she has reportedly always embraced the Catholic faith, as ChurchPop noted, this is the first many of her fans have witnessed the singer engage with it in such a public way.

Weeks before Stefani’s Hallow ads were promoted, the songstress began to display religious imagery on her social media accounts to her 18 million followers.

A screenshot taken from her Instagram Stories features what is known as a “holy card” of Saint Cecilia, regarded as the patron saint of musicians.

Though Stefani didn’t add a caption to the image, the message came through crystal clear.

Likewise, a screenshot of a comment left by Gwen on a reel of a 2023 Eucharistic procession from The Napa Institute, a conference center that “leverages liturgy, formation, and community to prepare leaders to bring truth, faith, and value into the modern world,” has been making the rounds on sites related to the Catholic belief.

“Beautiful and brave,” Stefani stated on the reel.

As social media began to catch wind of Stefani’s Hallow ads, many familiar with the company professed their ‘disappointment’ with the singer for joining forces with them.

One Threads user expressed that Hallow is often promoted by extreme right figures such as Michael Knowles of The Daily Wire.

“Hallow isn’t just politically aligned—it’s a scam,” they wrote.

“The app puts God’s grace behind a paywall, limiting access to spiritual content unless you fork over cash. Faith shouldn’t come with a subscription fee. Don’t use this app.”

Another user on Threads brought up Stefani’s repeated problems with cultural appropriation and saw her alignment with Hallow as just the latest step in an already problematic career.

“Honestly, I'm not surprised at all,” they wrote. “She built her career on cultural appropriation, so being a religious [bigot] doesn't seem like a stretch.”

One Twitter user asked, "Wait, Gwen Stefani is Catholic?," after recently learning of the singer's close ties to Catholicism.

To no one’s surprise, many online users are pinning Gwen’s association with Hallow and her sudden loud show of Catholicism on country star Blake Shelton – but that may not be true.

A report noted back in July noted that while the “God’s Country” performer was already Catholic before meeting Gwen, Stefani was the one that “ignited” his current beliefs and not the other way around.

“Their shared faith is also important to them. Stefani — a devout Catholic — “was the one who ignited Blake’s religious beliefs,” a source told the publication.

“They go to church with the kids and hold the same values. It’s a priority for them.”

All this religious humdrum comes on the heels of Stefani’s first full-length country effort, Bouquet, released earlier this November.

Despite resorting to pushing the album through unconventional means, including an appearance on the Home Shopping Network, the new set will debut next week at No. 95 on the Billboard 200 album chart with just 13,000 copies sold.

If true, this would make Bouquet Stefani’s lowest charting album of her career, with her previous releases – 2004’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby., 2006’s The Sweet Escape, and 2016’s This Is What the Truth Feels Like – all debuting in the top 10.

Stefani’s debut holiday set, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, peaked at No. 51 in 2017.