Archdiocese Publication Angelus Wins 19 Awards at 2026 Catholic Media Conference

Angelus, the official news outlet and magazine of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, won 19 awards, including four First Place awards top honors for its coverage of the January 2025 LA wildfires and for Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay as “Editor of the Year” at the Catholic Media Association’s 2026 Catholic Media Conference, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The competition included Catholic publications from across the U.S. and Canada, and recognized work done in 2025.

The magazine’s wildfire coverage earned First Place in the “Best Coverage – Disaster or Crises” category, with judges praising its “real immediacy, strong follow-up, and a clear sense of what this crisis meant to the affected faith community.” “It combines breaking coverage, recovery storytelling, service journalism, and emotional resonance in a way that feels essential and complete,” the judges wrote.

A photograph submitted by Jack McGeagh of a statue of the Virgin Mary standing amidst the rubble of his family’s home, destroyed in the Palisades Fire hours earlier, also won First Place in the “Best Photograph – Scenic, Still-life or Weather Photo” for capturing “loneliness and hope at once.”

Angelus was also recognized for its team coverage of the Church’s response to the federal immigration sweeps that rattled Southern California in the summer of 2025 (Second Place) and of the 2025 Jubilee Year (Third Place). The publication also finished third in the “Best Diocesan Magazine” category.

Columnists Heather King, Archbishop José H. Gomez, Robert Brennan, and Grazie Christie received second and third place honors in their respective “Best Column” categories.

Among the individual Angelus pieces recognized by the CMA judges was Mike Aquilina’s essay on Evagrius Ponticus, an obscure 4th century Christian heretic whose ideas were suppressed only to influence Buddhism centuries later; and a piece by guest writer Grant Martsolf detailing the story behind his family’s unusual pregnancy years after deciding not to have more children.

First place recognition included: Best Coverage – Disaster or Crises: January 2025 LA wildfires by Angelus Staff, Ann Rodgers and Mike Cisneros; Best Photograph – Scenic, Still-life or Weather Photo: “God Still Loves Us”: The Virgin Mary in the rubble of the Jan. 2025 Palisades Fire by Jack McGeagh; and Best Review: “If You’re Happy, Do You Know It?” (A review of Apple TV’s “Pluribus”) by Amy Welborn.

Second place honors included: Best Regular Column – Art, Leisure, Culture and Food – “Desire Lines” by Heather King; Best Review: “Sticking to the Prayers”: A review of “The Ritual” by Joe Joyce; Best Coverage – Immigration – The Catholic Church’s response to the immigration raids of summer 2025 by Archbishop José H. Gomez, Pablo Kay, Mike Cisneros and Kimmy Chacón; and Best Essay – Diocesan Magazines – “A Monk’s Long, Strange Trip” by Mike Aquilina.

Third place awards included: Magazine of the Year – Diocesan Magazines – Angelus; Best Coverage — Hot Topic — The Jubilee Year – “Going into Jubilee Mode” by Mike Aquilina, Mike Cisneros and Pablo Kay; Best Regular Column – Bishop’s Column in a Diocesan Magazine – “New World of Faith” by Archbishop José H. Gomez; and Best Regular Column – Family Life – “With Grace” by Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie.

For more information about the awards, please visit angelusnews.com/local/la-catholics/angelus-2025-media-awards.

About Angelus

The Archdiocese began publishing Angelus in July 2016, replacing The Tidings, which had been the Archdiocesan publication since 1895. It includes voices like renowned Catholic writers Elise Ureneck, Grazie Pozo Christie, and Mike Aquilina (national speaker and author of more than 50 books on Catholic themes). Best-selling Catholic author, Dr. Scott Hahn, writes a weekly Scripture column. These voices complement key contributors like Archbishop José H. Gomez, Father Ronald Rolheiser and Heather King.

For more information, visit AngelusNews.com, facebook.com/AngelusNews, twitter.com/AngelusNews and instagram.com/AngelusNews.

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