Patrick Comerford
The viewing and reading figures for this blog continue to surprise me, and these figures passed the 31 million mark earlier this morning (8 April 2026).
This blog passed the million figure in readership numbers no less than five times last month, reaching the 30 million mark by 29 March 2026, 29 million four days earlier (25 March), 28 million on 20 March, 27 million on 12 March, and 26 million at the beginning of that month (1 March). The number of hits on two days last month were the highest daily figures I have ever recorded: 323,156 on 27 March 2026 and 318,307 on 1 March.
This year so far has seen a phenomenal amount of traffic on this blog, reaching a volume of readers that I never have expected when I first started blogging 16 years ago. Half the total hits (15.5 million) have been within less than eight months, since 23 July 2025. The total hits last month were the highest monthly total ever (4,523,648), following on the heels of the previous month and a total of 3,386,504 in February 2026.
At the end of last year, this blog had 21 million hits (31 December 2025). So far this year, there have been more than 11.5 million hits or visitors in 2026.
I first began blogging in 2010, and it took almost two years until July 2012 to reach half a million readers. Half of the 29.5 million hits have been within the last nine or ten months, since mid-July.
Throughout this year and last, the daily figures have been overwhelming on many occasions. Of the 12 days of busiest traffic on this blog, six were in March, three were in February, one was in January, and two were in January 2025:
• 323,156 (27 March 2026)
• 318,307 (1 March 2026)
• 314,018 (28 February 2026)
• 301,449 (2 March 2026)
• 289,076 (11 January 2025)
• 285,366 (12 January 2025)
• 280,802 (26 February 2026)
• 273,022 (27 February 2026)
• 270,983 (25 March 2026)
• 261,422 (13 January 2026)
• 234,737 (26 March 2026)
• 228,931 (18 March 2026)
The number of readers continues to be overpowering and the daily averages are currently running at almost 90,000 or more hits a day so far this month. Ten years ago, the daily average was around 1,000.
To put today’s figure of 31 million in context:
The Euro 2020 final attracted an estimated TV audience in the UK 31 million. Television coverage of the England v Italy match was watched by more viewers than any programme since Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.
Greece is a premier global tourism destination, with visitor numbers exceeding 31 million annually in 2023 and 2025. Tourism now accounts for about one-fifth of Greece’s GDP, one of the highest percentages in the industrialised world.
31,000 km is 31 million metres and 31,000 sq km is 31 million sq metres.
Vancouver Island in Canada’s northern Pacific measures 31,285 sq km.
Apophis, a 370 metre asteroid, will pass just 31,000 km from Earth In 2029. That’s about one-tenth of the distance to the Moon, and inside the orbit of geostationary satellites. It will be visible to the naked eye, and while the impact risk is low, the flyby could shift its future trajectory. A direct hit would create a 1 km crater and regional devastation.
There are 31 million seconds in a full year and 31 million minutes is about 58 years, 11 months, and 8 days. In other words, if this blog was getting only one hit a minute, it would take almost 59 years, from April 1967, to reach today’s latest figure of 31 million.
It is now more than four years since I retired from active parish ministry on 30 March 2022. These days, though, about 100-120 people on average are reading my daily prayer diary posted on this blog each morning. A similar number were reading my recent series of postings on the churches and chapels of Walsingham over the past two weeks. I imagine many of my priest-colleagues would be prayerfully thankful if the congregations in their churches totalled 700-800 or more people each week.
This afternoon, I am very grateful to the real readers among those 31 million hits on this blog to date, and in particular I remain thankful to the faithful core group of about 100-120 people who join me in prayer, reading and reflections each day.
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