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 Leo, I have no doubt at all that the difficulties you are facing and the hidden, interior suffering you have to endure are only the beginning. A soul as
Dear Blanche, God is into ecology. Actually, he made ecology – he made the earth too, and everything in it. But he is really into conservation; he lets nothing go
Dear Priscilla, If you have complained about your studies to me, I assume it’s because you want me to give you a firm rebuke, and not a soft pat on
Dear Bridget, Over the course of the first months of your college career, I have noticed a disturbing trend in your correspondence. At first, you wrote mostly about the wonderful
Dear Boss, My erratic nephew, please don’t be such a wimp. If there’s one thing that obstructs God’s efforts to do good to souls more than anything else, it’s a
Dear Beth, It was good to hear that you made it through the first round of interviews. I know how long you have been hoping to win the Rhodes Scholarship,
Dear Gilda, Your latest note deeply saddened me. Whenever I hear of clergy, who have betrayed their trust and given scandal to the very souls they were called to save,
Dear Quincy, News of your fiery and victorious debates against the Pagan Student Union has reached me even here in my forsaken cubicle. What a grace it is to know
Dear Angelique, Happy saint’s day, my petite niece! To my mind, it has always been a pleasing irony to see that you take after your namesake by being small of
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!
