Are you a Catholic parent, grandparent, godparent, or teacher? You are going to absolutely love the newest Catholic kids’ product.
HeWo, short for “Hear the Word,” is an innovative audio player for children up to 12 years old. It’s a joyful faith companion that replaces screen time with quality time dedicated to the Word of God. Kids can listen independently, without needing to use your phone, either on the player’s speaker or with headphones.
The content is 100% devoted to the Catholic faith, featuring Bible stories, music, lives of great saints, podcasts, teachings, and audiobooks. The content is available in English, Spanish, French, and even Latin.
Besides Bible stories and prayers, the player includes all the best Catholic kids’ podcasts such as Catholic Sprouts, Firebreaker, The Merry Beggars, Juan Diego Network, and many others! The content is carefully chosen to ensure it is enriching, entertaining, and in line with Catholic teaching.
The HeWo player comes with 30 stories and 10 prayers, or you can subscribe to the unlimited bundle for a year, which gives you access to 100% of the library with hundreds of hours of listening and a monthly selection themed to the current liturgical season. The subscription ensures that the podcast creators are fairly compensated.
My review as a Catholic mom
As a Catholic mother of four young children, I’m always searching for ways to nurture their faith. When I first heard about HeWo, a new Catholic audio player for children, I was intrigued but admittedly a little skeptical. We already owned several children’s audio players: How would this “Catholic version” stack up?
I’m here to tell you that HeWo brings something new, different, and absolutely beautiful to the table. What I’ve seen in our home since introducing it is incredible.
My children have embraced this little device in ways I never expected. I’ve overheard my 6-year-old singing Latin prayers she memorized from hearing them on HeWo (the multilingual content is delightful!). My 10-year-old loves listening to the saint stories and asks me thoughtful questions about the Bible stories he hears. And my 3-year-old loves to listen to the Rosary as she’s falling asleep at night, thanks to HeWo.
One great feature is that kids can listen to the readings that correspond to the day’s Mass. This helps my children better understand and engage with the liturgy, and enter more fully into the life of the Church.
HeWo is not just another gadget but is an incredibly valuable tool that helps me fulfill my vocation to teach my children about our faith.
Some cool features and the story of HeWo
HeWo’s inventors are Catholic parents Elie and Viviana de LaForcade. The device came about in response to a call they heard in prayer and Scripture.
“One day, I was praying the Rosary while rocking my daughter, and I felt a deep calling in my heart to help children pray and come to know Jesus,” she said.
She heard St. Paul’s words in Scripture, “Faith comes from hearing, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), and realized that hearing stories is a powerful way for children to learn.
She had the idea for a Catholic audio player. When she shared the idea with her husband Elie, they both went “all in” on the mission.
The de LaForcades consulted with the Benedictine monks of Saint-Wandrille Abbey on the Biblical content, especially with Brother Vianney de Maylis, who is a Scripture scholar. They worked with Father Marin Cottard to put together the Sunday Mass teachings in both the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Latin Mass. Their work is strongly endorsed by a local bishop, Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S., Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle.
Here are a few of my favorite HeWo features:
- Engaging content: A rich library of Bible stories, prayers, songs, and faith-based teachings tailored for kids
- No ads, no screens: Ensures a distraction-free, safe environment for children to engage with their faith
- Parental controls: Parents can easily manage and customize content through a user- friendly smartphone app
- Smart personalization: The app can be personalized to your child’s stage of development and faith formation
- Grows with the child: The app’s content can automatically update and evolve as your child grows and develops
- Multilingual content: HeWo offers stories, prayers, and teachings in English, Spanish, French, and Latin
- Convenient and portable: Easy to use and transport, HeWo allows for listening at home, on vacation, or during car rides, and has a headphone jack for discreet listening
I can imagine a teacher using HeWo in a Catholic school classroom. What a great option to listen to the stories together or enjoy the sacred music during quiet time!
It’s also super helpful for homeschool parents as the HeWo wonderfully educates kids, a fantastic supplement to your religion curriculum.
And it would make a great gift for a grandchild, godchild, niece, nephew, or any other child you love.
And today we celebrate...