Biography
Father Robert Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker and theologian. Recently named rector and president of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary by Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, he is also the founder of “Word on Fire,” a global, non-profit media ministry that reaches millions of people, utilizing advanced technologies to draw them into or back to the Catholic faith.
One of Father Barron’s most highly praised creations is CATHOLICISM, a 10-part documentary and study program he created and wrote on the Catholic faith. A passionate student of art, architecture, literature, music and history, Father Barron incorporates these topics into the rich history of the Catholic Church.
The “Word On Fire“ series can be seen on PBS stations across the country as well as EWTN and Catholic TV. Father Barron’s website offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, “YouTube” videos, and more than 10 years of weekly sermon podcasts. He is the first priest to have a national television show on a secular network since Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s “Life is Worth Living” during the 1950’s.
Father Barron received a master’s degree in philosophy from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. in 1982 and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Institut Catholique, Paris in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at Mundelein Seminary since 1992. Father Barron was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Father Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. He is a frequent commentator on faith and culture for The Chicago Tribune, NBC Nightly News, Fox News, Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic Herald in London and Catholic New World. This evening, Father Barron shares his knowledge of evangelization in the 21st century by illustrating ways in which to proclaim the Good News of Christ to a secular society.