Juan Diego Network (JDN)  won two first-place awards at the 60th annual Gabriel Awards, presented by the Catholic Media Association since 1965 to recognize excellence in film, radio, television, and digital media, and often referred to as the Catholic Oscars. This year, for the first time, the Gabriel Awards were presented in a single ceremony alongside the Catholic Media Awards, as part of the Catholic Media Conference held June 16-19 in Atlantic City.

The Catholic Media Awards recognize diocesan and Catholic media outlets, large and small, in the United States and Canada. The Gabriel Awards, on the other hand, are open to everyone: each year, major networks and production companies in the United States and Canada, from secular public and private television and radio stations to large Catholic media organizations, submit work that touches on some aspect of the faith. JDN competed in this open category.

The Juan Diego Network podcasts were the only Spanish-language productions nominated. They competed against major English-language productions, and in the end, “The Adventures of Juan Diego” won Best Individual Audio Drama Episode, while “Investigation: Future Saints of Latin America and the Caribbean” took first place for Best Audio Drama Program.

“We competed against major English-language productions, and our podcasts were the only ones in Spanish. Even though it’s an apostolate and not a business, and Juan Diego Network doesn’t have sponsors or major media outlets behind it, winning two first-place awards confirms our calling to evangelize digitally by producing the highest quality ,” says José Manuel De Urquidi, founder of JDN.

Juan Diego Network was founded in 2018 as an apostolate that creates, produces, distributes, and promotes Spanish-language podcasts, and has been evangelizing in the digital sphere ever since. The two award-winning productions are stories for the ear, made to be listened to in the car, in the kitchen, while exercising, or before going to sleep.

“We go where the people already are. People today have their cell phones in their hands all day, so we bring Christ to them there, with a story that captivates them and makes them think and begin to walk towards the Catholic faith ,” explains De Urquidi.

“The Adventures of Juan Diego” brings the Guadalupe story to life in a sound drama, directed and written by Luis Diego Carranza. Meanwhile, “Research: Future Saints of Latin America and the Caribbean”  explores canonization causes in Latin America so that our people can learn about their blessed and venerable saints and, on the one hand, be moved by these great examples we have, but also know that they can ask for their intercession.

“Saint Juan Diego lived through incredibly difficult times, and he didn’t feel worthy to carry the message entrusted to him. At first, not even the bishop believed him. But he said yes, and he persevered, and the Virgin remained; through her, the entire continent came to know Christ. He knew he was nobody special; he simply said yes to being an instrument of God. Almost 500 years later, our calling and what we have to do is similar: to say yes and do what is asked of us. It’s not for ourselves: God can use us to reach so many who need Him ,” explains De Urquidi.

“We also have blessed and venerable figures from our land that almost no one knows about. We want everyone to be able to discover them and also ask for their intercession, and hopefully, God willing, their causes will advance because of miracles attributed to them and we will have more Latin American saints ,” he adds.

The focus on audio also stems from a concern for children. According to data from Common Sense Media, by age two, four out of ten children have their own tablet, and by age eight, almost one in four carries their own cell phone. Pre-teens spend about five and a half hours a day in front of entertainment screens, and teenagers spend more than eight, with social media and short videos from TikTok and YouTube gaining increasing traction.

“As a father, I worry about how many hours children spend glued to a screen. Podcasts are different because they can listen to a good story without having their eyes fixed on a video, and there are many studies on what this does for their developing brains and habits ,” says De Urquidi.

A study by the National Literacy Trust with Audible found that children use their imaginations more when listening to a story than when watching a video, and that audio also sparks a greater desire to read. While the screen provides everything ready-made, podcasts compel children to imagine Juan Diego’s face, Tepeyac Hill, the bishop’s voice, the difficult paths he traveled, and to think about and imagine what God’s love means. Various studies on active listening indicate that podcasts train attention, patience, and also expand vocabulary.

“When a child hears about Juan Diego, their mind imagines Tepeyac, the tilma, the roses, the historical moment in which all this took place. They use their imagination and, without realizing it, begin to understand their faith. That is what motivates us: that more children and young people learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe and so many saints from our own land so that we may draw closer to Christ and his Church ,” De Urquidi concludes.

Juan Diego Network  is the largest Catholic organization focused on the evangelization, education, and entertainment of Latinos worldwide through podcasts.