Go to 1:45.30 in the above video to watch Juan Pérez perform at the Catholic Music Awards Ceremony.
GLENDALE — Juan Pérez wears several hats at St. Pancras Parish — pastoral assistant, director of religious education, and youth pastor — so it may be easy to forget that the Colombia-born Pérez is also an international recording artist and performer of Gospel–inspired songs.
However, with a recent accolade, it’s impossible to overlook his musical talents any longer as he now holds the title of “award-winning” international recording artist.
Pérez won Best Pop Song in English at the first-ever Catholic Music Awards — nicknamed the “Grammys of Catholic Music” — at the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome on July 27.
Before his victory was announced, Pérez performed a medley of his music, including the award-winning pop song, “Holy,” in English and others in Spanish.
Pérez was still in Rome on July 30 when he told The Tablet how he sat down after his performance, only to be summoned back to the stage.
“I didn’t even know what was happening,” he said with a laugh. “I was backstage, and the presenter said to me, ‘You just won.’ And I was like, ‘Hold on, are you serious?’ ”
The international awards, two years in the making, promote and recognize Catholic singers who honor the Catholic faith and evangelize through music.
Numerous accolades were given in four language categories: English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Also attending the awards was the pastor of St. Pancras, Msgr. Steven Aguggia. He said on July 31 that the event was exciting and powerful.
“All these very talented people doing all this work is not for the sake of making themselves famous,” he said. “It’s all part of the evangelization.”
Msgr. Aguggia added that he attended to support Pérez’s nominations. He said parishioners were equally supportive.
“I know his talents from the parish, having heard him sing and lead the community here many times,” Msgr. Aguggia said. “But the people were all rooting for him.
“They always talk about how much of a blessing he is to the parish, and how lucky we are to have him, because he really helps to build up this community.”
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Pérez said he got the idea for “Holy” one day while on his long daily commute from his home in New Jersey to St. Pancras in Glendale.
He explained that the song praises God for his blessings that are so numerous, “how can we now praise you?”
“It was crazy traffic that morning,” Pérez recalled. “I was blessing God and praising God. And then this song came to my head, with the music. I recorded it on my phone, and then I sent it to my producer in Colombia.
“He put it all together, he fixed it, and then we had the baby — ‘Holy.’ ”
Pérez said the song was also nominated for three other awards, including Best Worship Song and Best Production.
The fourth nomination was for Best Video, which was played on a large screen above the stage during Pérez’s performance.
Footage used in the video was taken by a drone in the fall of 2023 at the Qumran archaeological site near the Dead Sea in Israel. Because the war in Gaza was underway, Pérez said, he had to get permission from military officials to fly the drone.
Pérez, who has been in Rome for over a month, said he planned to return home on Aug. 7.
He was in the Eternal City to participate in the Dicastery for Communication’s efforts, sharing new ways to spread the Gospel, particularly during the Jubilee Year. Discussions also involved the Jubilee of Young People, which began July 28, the day after the awards ceremony.
The youth jubilee’s second day included a Vatican conference to share guidelines for evangelizing on social media platforms.
Thousands of teens, young adults, clergy, and religious attended this “Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers” at the Auditorium Conciliazione.
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The event concluded with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Pérez performed there, too, repeating the awards-night medley in addition to a few other songs.
Included was a rendition of the “Pater Noster” or, as known in English, the Lord’s Prayer, also called the “Our Father.”
Pérez was still on stage when a surprise guest arrived in St. Peter’s Square.
“The pope came to say ‘hello’ to us,” Pérez said. “Imagine this picture: thousands of people, good Catholics, young people, singing the ‘Pater Noster.’ And in the background was Pope Leo riding the popemobile around St Peter’s Square.
“It was amazing.”
Pérez said winning a “Catholic Grammy” was humbling and a call to ramp up his creativity for sharing the Gospel.
“When I won that award, I felt God was telling me, ‘Okay, Juan, let’s go to the next step. I put you here. I gave you this. Let’s make it better, and let’s make it better for my people.’
“I feel a lot of responsibility.”