Back in September of 2010 when Pope Benedict XVI made his pastoral visit to England and Scotland to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, we introduced you to a unique group of youth Catholics known as “Catholic Voices”. The pope’s visit to Britain provokes not a little controversy, with many Britons insisting their tax dollars should not be spent hosting the pontiff given that “his” values did not mesh with their own. Two men deeply involved in the Church in England and outside England, two friends, got to thinking “what if someone actually bothered to explain why the Pope is coming to England? Why the Church teaches what she does? Why the pope doesn’t discriminate against anyone?” They set out to find 25, young, faithful, normal Catholics from all walks of life. Calling on their friends inside and outside Church the two men, Jack Valero – an Opus Dei numerary who responsible for Public Relations for Opus Dei in England, and Austen Ivereigh – a seasoned Catholic Journalist who has written for publications around the world, gave these 25 young Catholics training in both church doctrine and broadcast journalism. The Catholic Voices took Britain by storm in the six months leading up to the Pope’s visit. During the visit itself they were regular faces on the BBC and SkyNews. Their youthful, normal appearance and their calm, articulate manner of fielding even the most aggressive questions won over critics and the media. By the end of the pope’s visit headlines revealed the nation’s love for the grandfatherly pontiff. Now Catholic Voices has been called to help do the same in Mexico. This February the creators of Catholic Voices UK will travel to Mexico to help train the Mexican “Voices” in the lead up to the pope’s March 23 – 25 visit to that country. Salt + Light will bring you full coverage of that Apostolic Journey. Stay tuned to our website for broadcast details.