MANILA, Philippines — The St. Pope John Paul II Award of the 45th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA), held on Nov. 23, in Manila, was given to Dominus Est, a Catholic online community of faith, for their outstanding contribution in their field of communication, which is digital media.
This is the first time for the award to be given to a group of volunteers doing digital evangelization.
Dominus Est began as a website devoted to Catholic news updates and features, launched by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle when he was Archbishop of Manila on World Mission Sunday in 2019. Since its launch, however, the site has evolved from being a mere platform to becoming an independent online community. While run purely by volunteers, the Dominus Est website (DominusEst.PH) now has around 10,000 weekly visitors while its social media platforms have over 150,000 followers and a weekly reach of 2 million.
Dominus Est has produced over 10 shows including In Depth, a talk show series; Franciscus, a collaboration with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Mission in line with the Year of Mission; A Father's Heart, a series on St. Joseph, in collaboration with the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Laity; and Dominus Est Live for special events such as World Youth Day; among others.