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 Stella, Now you can see how your patience and virtue have been rewarded! You built up a true friendship with Bill, based on common values and constructed through engaging
Dear Liz, I know how hard it is to maintain peace in your heart while so much activity and so many problems are swirling all around you. But I have
Dear George, Sometimes you just can’t be popular and be faithful. If your involvement in the Newman Center and in COMPASS is making you the pariah of the philosophy department,
Dear Marc, Since you always forget, I’ll remind you: today is the anniversary of your baptism. If I weren’t cooped up in this blasted solitary confinement, I would buy you
40 Days to Living Your Mission with Christ Conclusion Responding to Christ’s invitation to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor
Day 40 Avoiding the Rush This passion will not fail to stir in the Church a new sense of mission, which cannot be left to a group of “specialists” but
Day 39 The Perennial Pitfall It is important however that what we propose, with the help of God, should be profoundly rooted in contemplation and prayer. Ours is a time
Day 38 Exorcising the Specter of Discouragement The gospel is certainly demanding. We know that Christ never permitted his disciples and those who listened to him to entertain any illusions
Day 37 Facing Your Challenges We have every reason to have confidence in Christian youth: youth will not fail the Church if within the Church there are enough older people
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!
