Manu Garcia. Connecting young people in the digital age

Manu Garcia's story with the faith is not that of a late conversion, but that of a heritage lived and cultivated since childhood. "I have always been raised in a practicing Christian family." Garcia explains. Growing up in a Christian home laid the foundation for a deep and organic relationship with the Church. This experience of faith is what allows Manu today, with authenticity and conviction, to reach out to others.

Despite his immersion in the digital world, Manu's path to God remains deeply rooted in the everyday and the personal. "It is quite simple, through my ordinary work and my encounter with God in every rule of piety or in every event with others."he says. He is a graphic designer and teacher, but he is mainly dedicated to his work in an audiovisual production company that becomes the fertile ground for the encounter with the divine.

PrayToday y Young Catholics

Manu collaborates with a youth association helping in the formation of young people and their families, thus demonstrating his commitment to the transmission of the faith in an integral way.

Manu's most significant impact on digital evangelization is his role in PrayToday y Young Catholicstwo initiatives that were born as a creative and timely response to the needs of young people. These projects emerged in the pandemic, a period when physical distance drove the search for spiritual connections and resources in the digital realm.

"A few years ago, we started the podcasts of PrayToday in the middle of the pandemic with the aim of helping and facilitating the young people who were at home to pray with these short audios of 6/7 minutes dealing with different topics of Christian spirituality", Manu reports. These podcasts, designed as a "complement for your prayer times".They offered an accessible dose of spiritual nourishment, adapted to the rhythms of young people's lives.

"And these podcasts soon after became part of the platform. Young Catholics with more than 500,000 followers on all social networks and a website with a multitude of resources for young people to live their faith."García emphasizes. This half a million followers represents a vast and active community that seeks to nurture its faith in the digital environment, finding in Young Catholics a lighthouse and a meeting point.

The power of prayer

The fruits of this digital evangelization are manifested in stories of personal transformation that demonstrate the power of faith transmitted through new media. 

One of the most impressive anecdotes is that of "a girl with anorexia who, after years of suffering and all kinds of treatments, he found in the daily audios of PrayToday a road to recovery".Garcia says with astonishment.

"Another girl who wanted to have an abortion at the age of 16 found through the audios and meditations the strength she needed to go ahead."he shares. The providence worked in such a way that "his mother contacted us and, on the occasion of a pro-life demonstration, part of the team met the whole family, including the newborn baby.". 

Behind the success of Young Catholics y PrayToday there is a large and committed team. "We count on the selfless help of more than 200 priests, seminarians and brothers (from Spain, part of Europe and all of Latin America) who collaborate to accompany young people in their faith."

This network of ecclesial collaborators enriches the content by integrating it with Catholic doctrine and adapting it to young people from diverse contexts. The participation of priests and seminarians strengthens the link between the Church and the new generations, broadening their voices and building bridges with the institution.

The work of Young Catholics demonstrates that social networks can be a place of encounter with Christ. With creativity and fidelity, they have managed to translate the Gospel message into digital language without losing depth. Their work is an urgent call to the Church: we must leave our virtual sacristies and dare to speak of God in the networks, where young people live today. Time is short, and souls are waiting.