The Archdiocese of Chicago’s digital and broadcast media ministry has a new studio set to use for its various programming.

On Aug. 10, Cardinal Cupich dedicated and blessed the Cardinal Francis George Studios, which were made possible with a donation from Tai (Terry) and the late You (Catherine) Shin. Terry Shin is president and founder of Swagger Foods Corporation. He and his wife immigrated from South Korea in 1973.

As parishioners of the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest, the Shins developed a friendship with Cardinal Francis George and wanted to do something in his honor.

“Our entire family still loves and deeply respects Cardinal George,” Terry Shin said. “We wanted to honor this inspiring and influential man by providing an effective and far-reaching way to relay the word of God to others. The ability of television and radio to bring people together in Christ has been even more important during the pandemic.”

“We are excited to get the new space up and running,” said Vince Gerasole, director of multimedia content, radio and television for the archdiocese.

Chicago Scenic Design, which has built sets for media outlets such as ESPN and ABC, constructed the new set. It has a backdrop that is a composite of several architecturally noteworthy churches from around the archdiocese set against the Chicago skyline.

It is similar to a TV news set and includes an anchor desk.

“Our staff worked on creating a lot of the background that you see on the set,” Gerasole said. “We knew what we needed. We wanted an area that sort of looked like a news set or an anchor set, where if somebody was going to hosting a particular program they could just set their papers in front of them on a desk. It also provides the opportunity to have three or four other people sitting there and having a discussion.”

They also wanted a more intimate area where two people could sit and have a conversation. The chairs and tables can be removed to make it a performance space, Gerasole said.

Some new equipment still needs to be installed, but Gerasole said the staff will be able to fully use the studio in just a few weeks.

“In the meantime, we’ve been using it for different types of programming that we’ve been recording and it’s great,” he said.

The office regularly produces two broadcast magazines, daily video streams and podcasts and Masses in Spanish, English and Polish. The Catholic Chicago YouTube channel has over 29,000 subscribers.

“A lot of people don’t realize the large number of programs that we produce here in the Archdiocese of Chicago,” he said.

The archdiocese began streaming more content during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now produces 24 hours of content for streaming every month.

“That’s really how you can reach people now on their phones and on their laptops,” Gerasole said. “That’s just another way that we can reach people who are interested in the things that we are talking about on our various programs.”

Some people are not able to make it to Mass or want to be more connected with their faith and use media to do that, Gerasole explained.

“What we try to do is fill that void for people here in the Archdiocese of Chicago who want a way to connect with their local church or with the archdiocese in general or just learn more about some of the good things that are happening related to faith,” he said.