Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010.
He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, Inside the Passion, the only authorized, behind-the-scenes explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.
His most widely known books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple.
His most recent book is Spiritual But Not Religious: The Search for Meaning in a Material World.
Fr. John resides in Atlanta and serves as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ.
Dear Lou, Your determination to serve your neighbor by going into politics has always inspired me. I can even remember your award-winning discourse back in the eighth-grade speech contest, when
Dear Bertha, If your first two years of college have been a kind of “training” in how to live out your faith without sinking into the typical collegiate pitfalls (and
Dear Lise, I’m not one to deprecate beauty pageants, so I gladly congratulate you on winning the Miss Atlanta contest. (I guess your piano lessons paid off.) Nevertheless, now that
Dear Martial, I detect in your last note telltale signs that you have once again begun to read Westerns in your free time. You gave yourself away by using phrases
Dear Pia, Starting college is like starting a new volume in your autobiography. Right now it is full of crisp, blank pages. Each day you will write something on those
Dear Bernie, Your ambition to change the world for the better is commendable. Indeed, I would expect nothing less from someone who has received so much (“much will be expected
Dear Ernie, I empathize with your eagerness to enter the seminary sooner rather than later; now that God has made clear his call, delay is necessarily a cross. But your
Dear Johnny, What a boon for my soul to read of your earnest desire to make this coming school year into a milestone of spiritual growth! I have always been
Dear Helene, I detect a bit of remorse in your last note, as if you regret your coming back to the Church at such a late date. I will admit
Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.
In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.
Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.
From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.
Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!
