BRAINTREE -- The Pilot was honored with seven awards from the Catholic Media Association for its work in 2021. The awards were announced at the association's annual conference held July 4-7 in Portland, Oregon.

Each year, the Catholic Media Association invites submissions from Catholic newspapers, websites, and magazines to be judged for excellence by a panel of independent experts. The Pilot has been honored with awards every year since 2002.

This year, editor Antonio Enrique, production manager Nan Wilkins, and advertising manager Daniel Maguire received second place for Best Media Kit 2021. Wilkins, Maguire, and special section editor Father Robert O'Grady also received second place for Best Special Supplement or Special Issue with Advertising Emphasis for the 2021 Catholic Schools Open House special issue. The Pilot also earned an honorable mention for Best Newspaper Website.

Managing editor Gregory L. Tracy received two awards for his photography: First place in the category Best General News Photo for "Final farewell" and an honorable mention for Best Feature Photo for "Stained glass windows reflected in flag." Both photographs were part of The Pilot's coverage of the Sept. 13, 2021, funeral of fallen Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Lawrence.

The judges described "Final Farewell" as having the "Strongest horizontal composition in the competition. It has some of the best color too. It is very rich, vivid and striking."

Staff reporter Jacqueline Tetrault received first place for Best Reporting of Social Justice Issues -- Solidarity for her story "Catholic Charities, CJP partner to support Afghan refugees," published Sept. 3, 2021.

"I like that there are multiple angles to the story and that the coverage showcases a nontraditional and unexpected collaboration to address a pressing issue. Just about any reader probably would learn something valuable from the coverage," the judges said in their comments.

Tetrault also received third place for Best Feature Writing for the article "Faith community nurses integrate faith and health care," which was published Jan. 29, 2021. In their comments on the article, the judges said, "The writer takes on an important, timely subject that is likely unfamiliar to many readers and shows in detail why they could benefit. The writer nicely handles anecdotes, a wealth of information and thorough examination of the need for this nursing program."