B.C. Catholic has record-breaking award season

The B.C. Catholic has just marked its most successful year of Catholic journalism, with the newspaper and communications staff winning 16 awards from the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

In addition to the nine awards won a week earlier from the Canadian Christian Communicators Association, it made 2019 a record-setting year for the archdiocesan newspaper.

“I’m so proud of the work done by the B.C. Catholic staff and our Communications Office,” said editor Paul Schratz. 

“The tremendous effort, talent, and support from the entire team is why we’re celebrating this recognition of good Catholic journalism.”

He credited the support for the Catholic press shown by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, the leadership of communications director Makani Marquis, and the efforts of the B.C. Catholic team (assistant editor and reporter Agnieszka Ruck, graphic designer and production coordinator Inca Siojo, and advertising representative Raymond Loretan). 

“The need for independent media who are committed to truth has never been greater,” Schratz said.

The B.C. Catholic was named third-best weekly diocesan paper of its size, with judges commending its photography, variety of news and opinion, and “lively presentation.”

It was a particularly strong year for Siojo, who received several design awards, including multiple honours in two categories.

Siojo’s artwork for a feature on Catholic travel destinations across Canada earned her the best original illustration award. 

Meanwhile her illustrations for “Rediscovering the art of friendship in a lonely country,” a story by Ruck about social isolation in Canada, earned her second place in illustration, with the judges saying her “unique, bold, but simple colour choices and hand-drawn visual style create an intimate feel that aligns with the content of the article.”

Siojo two-peated again in the layout category for weekly diocesan papers under 25,000 circulation, receiving an honourable mention for her social isolation layout and then taking third place for her layout of the marriage milestones Mass, “Couples celebrate 4,800 years of marriage at St. Paul’s,” written by Ruck. 

The judges complimented its “multi-layered presentation” saying “the longer you look at it, the more there is to see.”

The newspaper’s strength in writing was also recognized with multiple writing awards, including a second place to film critic David Baird in the arts, culture, and leisure column category.

The B.C. Catholic’s editorial section took second place among diocesan newspapers and was noted for having “the best writing in the competition” with “well structured arguments” and content on pop culture, politics, philosophy, family life, and the environment, as well as letters from clergy and readers.

A series of columns on faith in the public square earned Schratz an honourable mentions for best coverage of religious liberty issues, while a column “No Justice for Littlest Victims” took second place for an editorial on a local issue. It was described as a “beautifully written, thought-provoking piece that sheds light on murder, unborn children and societal worth. A riveting read.”

Schratz also won an honourable mention for a national or international editorial for “The Scramble to Redefine Conservatism.”

Reporter and assistant editor Agnieszka Ruck’s writing and photography earned her a second-place finish in social justice reporting for her feature “Sister Power: Next Gen Nuns Generate Their Own Electricity.” Judges called it “a fun, light-hearted style choice balanced with purposeful choice of details.”

Ruck also earned an honorable mention in social justice reporting for an article “They’re My Family,” originally printed in the Knights of Columbus Columbia magazine.

It wasn’t only journalism that drew judges’ attention this year. For the second year, the archdiocesan Communications team won the Best Annual Report award: “It’s just beautifully laid out, in a very accessible way that also tells a string of simple stories.”

In addition, a 12-page Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse released in November earned second place for coverage of the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The report was put together by the B.C. Catholic team with contributors Daphne Gray-Grant and Warren Clark.

And a B.C. Catholic promotional ad by Raymond Loretan and Inca Siojo, 20/20 Vision for 2020 Advertising, won second place for in-house ads.

To celebrate the 25 Catholic press awards received by The B.C. Catholic and the Archdiocese of Vancouver Communications Office, we’re shining a spotlight on our talented staff behind the scenes.

Here are the people who day after day make sure our weekly newspaper gets published, social media feeds are engaging, videos are produced, archdiocesan websites are updated, Catholics are kept informed through multiple newsletters, and much, much more.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is our award-winning team.

Ruxandra Dupuis and Rachel Nadeau

Ruxandra and Rachel are transitioning their roles as Rachel returns to the Communications Office after a year’s parental leave. The role of Client Services and Team Support Lead for the Communications Office encompasses a broad range of duties, from providing support for the editorial team to being the front line in connecting with readers. They provide newspaper subscription support for individuals and parishes, make sure our columnists and freelance writers get paid, and coordinate classified advertising.

On the digital and project management side, they handle design, marketing, and web projects for archdiocesan offices, collaborate with clients and the rest of the communications team to brainstorm creative direction for projects, and contribute to creating content for all archdiocesan social media channels.

Matthew Furtado

When Archbishop Miller releases a video message, Matthew is the key player behind the scenes – filming, editing, and sharing the footage on the archdiocese’s social media accounts.

Matthew also works as a consultant to parishes for live streaming, Mass registration, and anything digital communications, a role that has increased and become critical during the COVID-19 pandemic. He helps develop marketing strategy for archdiocesan events and campaigns, manages paid advertising for donor campaigns and the Gardens of Gethsemani, coordinates with external contractors and printers, and programs registration forms for archdiocesan events.

If you see it online, Matthew probably had his hand in it.

Raymond Loretan

Raymond is the B.C. Catholic’s advertising representative and sees his role in strategic advertising as stewardship of the Catholic brand in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

His mind is constantly looking for ways to promote the Catholic identity. He likes to pose a hypothetical question to advertisers: “What if I was able to get the microphone into your hands after Mark Donnelly sings O Canada to a sell-out crowd at B.C. Place? What would your company say?” Then he points out that if “B.C. Catholic Place” was an actual venue, it would offer 49 sell-out crowds a year, with a weekly readership of more than 50,000 people.

In addition to helping promote the Church’s many ministries, parishes, and schools through advertising, Raymond offers ad and direct mailer insert opportunities to businesses and non-profit charities, providing a direct and powerful way to bring their message to Catholic consumers through the newspaper and online.

Makani Marquis

Makani is Senior Director of Communications, overseeing the overall direction of the communications team, including projects, tone, messaging, media relations, personnel, and vision, while serving as department liaison with the archbishop and other departments.

Rina Narciso

Rina has her hand in many aspects of the Communications Office including graphic design, digital newsletters, and social media. 

She loves creating and beautifying various websites for archdiocesan clients, as well as keeping our numerous websites up to date.

She also uses her role as coordinator for the Tilma website platform to help parishes communicate effectively with their parishioners. Rina has offered training (virtual and in-person) to several parish administrators and pastors across the archdiocese – from Chilliwack to Gibsons – and hopes to visit more parishes.

Entering her third year of working for the communications team, she remains passionate about her design work and helping parishes. To this day, she considers it her dream job.

Agnieszka Ruck

Agnieszka’s photos, news, and feature articles have been published across North America in publications including The B.C. Catholic, Columbia Magazine, and diocesan newspapers through Catholic News Service.

She has chased stories as far north as Yellowknife and and as distant as Jerusalem and is motivated by stories about redemption and conversion.

Agnieszka feels blessed at the opportunities she has to interview refugees, abuse survivors, ex-convicts, First Nations people suffering the effects of Residential Schools, and countless others who share their powerful stories of desperation, hope, and second chances.

As assistant editor of The B.C. Catholic, she also assigns freelance writers, sends out mid-week headlines through the Busy Catholic newsletter, and wades through a tide of emails on her way to covering more stories about today’s Catholics.

Paul Schratz

Paul is the B.C. Catholic’s editor. Just as a lot of people ask why an orchestra needs a conductor, many (including staff) wonder what an editor actually does.

His most important role is offering to staff random, undeveloped ideas that pop into his head and seeing what they accomplish with them. The result: half-baked story concepts get turned into award-winning articles. Murky design suggestions become first-class illustrations and layouts.

Paul edits the paper’s news content, does some of the writing that doesn’t merit a byline, has a hand in photo selection, and selects letters to the editor, while explaining to readers why their letter wasn’t published.

He writes a deadline-driven column, and has a keen eye for finding talented writers and talking them into contributing columns, features, and op-ed articles.

Inca Siojo

Inca is the production coordinator for The B.C. Catholic, ensuring the newspaper actually gets published in print and digital form each week. But it’s her role as graphic designer that allows her to engage her passion for visual arts and teamwork as she creates award-winning illustrations, design, and imagery for the newspaper, the archdiocese’s annual reports, and other archdiocesan clients. She is the creative mind behind some of the archdiocese’s social media posts.

One of Inca’s favourite quotes is from author Steven Pressfield: “If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet. You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimetre farther along its path back to God. Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”