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 Phil, The great thing about the Apostles is how normal they were. Jesus Christ always chooses ordinary people to become extraordinary saints. You should keep that in mind, because
Dear Ethel, Right now, your prayer life is more important than every other duty except one: your studies. Right now, God needs you to be the best student you can be,
Dear Joe, As exams draw near and spring is in the air, you need my help. Well, not exactly my help, but at least a gentle avuncular reminder. Praise
Dear Pip, The tone of distress that percolated through your last note gladdens my heart. My dear nephew, if ever you feel as if everything is going perfectly in your
Dear Cathy, Stop it! You are causing yourself unnecessary grief. Your vocation, whatever it is, is not God’s way of torturing you; it is a gift of his love. The
Dear Pete, I daresay there is an easy explanation of why your COMPASS group is not growing so quickly as you would like. As a matter of fact, I can
Dear Rick, I am glad that you have decided to run that boys’ camp again this summer. I am sure those internships were quite alluring, but your choice to serve
Dear Marcia, If they ever let me out of this absurd confinement, I would very much like to take you and your brother on a pilgrimage to Venice. Three cities
Dear Fidelity, Don’t change majors for the wrong reasons. You have always wanted to be a lawyer (and for the right reasons, too: to defend justice), and pre-law is a
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!
