On Thursday morning, the Holy Father met with Noel Díaz, founder of El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización (ESNE). Based in California, this Catholic ministry runs a television network that broadcasts throughout Latin America and Spain, as well as a large network of radio stations across the United States and Mexico.
By Felipe Herrera-Espaliat
It was a long-awaited meeting for Noel Díaz, ever since Leo XIV was elected as Successor of Peter on May 8. This Mexican immigrant in the United States had cultivated a close relationship with Pope Francis, who on numerous occasions had blessed and encouraged the projects of the association of the faithful, Apostolado El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización. The organization was founded in California, United States, and from there broadcasts Catholic television programming throughout Latin America and Spain. In addition, under the umbrella of this fruitful ecclesial project, an extensive network of radio stations operates both in the United States and in Mexico.
For this reason, it was important for Noel Díaz that the American and Peruvian Pope become more familiar with the mission he leads as a layman, which, among other goals, seeks to bring the voice of the Holy Father to ever more Spanish- and English-speaking people.
The shoeshine box
Shortly after noon on Thursday, February 12, Pope Leo XIV received Díaz in his personal office. Díaz was accompanied by two priests and a layman, all from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The visitors brought several gifts to the Pontiff, including a symbol of the “I Am the 73” project, a path of conversion that promotes a life close to Jesus, beginning with a 33-day experience of consecration to the Lord.
Even more significant was that Noel Díaz presented him with a replica of the shoeshine box with which, as a boy at social risk, he earned his living—so much so that through that effort he paid for the suit for his First Communion. It was also an important symbol because he had presented an identical box in 2016 to Pope Francis before shining his shoes on a flight to Mexico. That moment marked the beginning of his friendship with the Argentine Pontiff, a relationship that bore abundant fruit for the entire El Sembrador family.
Two priests and a layman from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California, accompanied Díaz to his meeting with the Pope.
Migrants and the Word of God
Among other matters, Leo XIV and Noel Díaz discussed the issue of migration in the United States and throughout the world, and the need to increasingly promote knowledge of the Word of God among the faithful.
After his meeting with the Holy Father, in an extensive interview with Vatican News in Spanish, Díaz reflected further on his dialogue with the Pope and on the challenges the Pope proposed to them in order to persevere in the evangelizing mission of the community of lay people and consecrated members who make up and animate the Apostolado El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización.
