June 30, 2025 — We’re proud to announce that our Jesuit Conference’s Office of Communications and Vocation Promotion team won 14 2025 Catholic Media Awards, including serval honors for “AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast” and various video, written and social media content.
The Catholic Media Awards are presented annually by the Catholic Media Association, an association of publishers and communication professionals in Catholic media. The association sponsors various award programs that honor works that inform and promote the mission of the Catholic Church.
The AMDG podcast, a weekly show on spirituality, culture and social justice featuring conversations with Jesuits and friends, took home several awards, including second place for “Best Podcast,” with judges saying each episode presents a refreshing perspective “of how we can live our faith fully and uniquely.”
AMDG host Mike Jordan Laskey received second place for “Podcaster of the Year.” He “brings important topics to his listeners and goes in depth with his guests, bringing clarity and context to the conversation. You feel like you’re in a master’s program at the end of each episode,” the judges noted.
AMDG received first place for both the “Best Podcast — News” and “Best Podcast — Social Justice Issues” categories. The news category included episodes with a philosopher on AI and an expert on U.S. Catholicism on the church today. Topics on the social justice episodes included the Jesuit Prison Education Network and how Catholic Charities lives the Gospel.
The AMDG series on the 2024 presidential election was awarded second place in the “Hot Topic — 2024 Election” category, which included an interview with Washington state’s former Lieutenant Governor who left politics to become a Jesuit.
The Pathway to Priesthood Podcast took home third place for “Best Podcast Series,” which judges said “captures the challenges and rewards of discerning a call to ministry, providing listeners with an intimate, reflective experience.”
The Conference won first place in the “Best Use of Social Media” category for its “collaborative effort that highlights the power of storytelling.” Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Bluesky.
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The communication team’s video content also won several awards. In the “Best Interview — Video” category, “Ending Solitary Confinement with Patrick Govan” received second place.
“Encountering Christ in the Migrant: Jesuit Vocations on the Border” won third place for “Best Video — Religious Life, Diocesan and National News Organizations.” The video provides an intimate look at the Jesuits of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries and the “important and compelling work they do on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border,” according to the judges.
“How Jesuits Accompany Today’s Holy Families on the Border,” which documents the asylum journey of two Venezuelan migrants, won third place in the “Best Video — Social Justice Issues, Diocesan and National News Organizations” category. The judges noted that “the producers (MegAnne Liebsch and Eric Clayton) do an exceptional job of taking the viewer through the emotional and complicated journey of Joshuar and Stephanie’s challenges and the spiritual support the Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries team provides every day.”
Our newsletter “Jesuit News” received third place for “National Electronic Newsletter,” and our website, Jesuits.org, received an honorable mention for “Best New Website,” after a redesign in 2024. You can sign up to receive Jesuit News and our other newsletters on our website.
Eric Clayton, the Conference’s deputy director of communications, received an honorable mention for “Writer of the Year.” Among other stories, he writes the weekly Now Discern This email series. Sign up to get Ignatian inspiration in your inbox every Wednesday.
Finally, artist Jen Norton received an honorable mention for “Best Illustration with Graphic Design or Art” for her “Who Are My Mother and Brothers and Sisters?” illustration in the Imagining the Gospel series for the Jesuit Media Lab.
The Conference is grateful to have its work recognized and looks forward to continuing to produce multimedia content that promotes Ignatian spirituality and the good news of Jesus Christ.
Full list of awards:
Best Podcast — News
First Place
AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast
Mike Jordan Laskey, Eric Clayton and Marcus Bleech, Jesuit Conference
Best Podcast — Social Justice Issues
First Place
AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast
Mike Jordan Laskey, Eric Clayton and Marcus Bleech, Jesuit Conference
Best Use of Social Media
First Place
Becky Sindelar, Marcus Bleech, Eric Clayton and Mike Jordan Laskey, Jesuit Conference
Best Podcast
Second Place
AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast
Mike Jordan Laskey, Eric Clayton, Marcus Bleech and Becky Sindelar, Jesuit Conference
Podcaster of the Year
Second Place
Mike Jordan Laskey, Jesuit Conference
Hot Topic — 2024 Election
Second Place
AMDG Podcast Series: 2024 Presidential Election
Mike Jordan Laskey and Marcus Bleech, Jesuit Conference
Best Interview — Video
Second Place
Ending Solitary Confinement with Patrick Govan
MegAnne Liebsch, Jesuit Conference
Religious Life, Diocesan and National News Organizations
Third Place
Encountering Christ in the Migrant: Jesuit Vocations on the Border
Eric Clayton and MegAnne Liebsch, Jesuit Conference
Social Justice Issues, Diocesan and National News Organizations
Third Place
How Jesuits Accompany Today’s Holy Families on the Border
MegAnne Liebsch and Eric Clayton, Jesuit Conference
Best National Electronic Newsletter
Third Place
Jesuit News
Eric Clayton and Becky Sindelar, Jesuit Conference
Best Podcast Series
Third Place
Pathway to Priesthood Podcast Series
Eric Clayton, Jesuit Conference
Best New Website
Honorable Mention
Jesuits.org
Marcus Bleech, Becky Sindelar, Mike Jordan Laskey and Eric Clayton, Jesuit Conference and Ashley Paul Swanson, Bend Marketing
Writer of the Year
Honorable Mention
Eric A. Clayton, Jesuit Conference
Best Illustration with Graphic Design or Art
Honorable Mention
“Who Are My Mother and Brothers and Sisters?”
Jen Norton
Jesuit Conference
