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.
Welcome to 40 Days to Living Your Mission with Christ We are so glad that you will be joining us for Lent! Your Lenten reflections will begin tomorrow. You
Dear Melanie, I always used to make a little retreat on New Year’s Eve – go off for a few hours to a quiet chapel or convent and reflect on
Dear Ann, As always when I write to you, I feel that I can bare my heart and will be fully understood. You have always had the gift of compassion,
Dear Tom, Congratulations! To be honest, I am not surprised – any businessman in his right mind would snatch you up for a summer internship at the drop of a
Dear Ingrid, I just read the e-newsletter you sent me with the article about your work with the pro-life student union. Quite commendable. I hope and pray that God grants
Dear Jean, Having received no greeting from you in quite a while, I can’t help wondering if you may be slipping a bit. Especially during vacation and all – usually,
Dear Stephanie, I was sad to receive your note yesterday. It must make your heart sore to see your dad stay at home when everyone else goes to Mass. But
Dear Nick, I hope you are so enraptured by the heavenly delights of today’s celebrations that you don’t get a chance to read this until later. But on the off
Dear Emile, How good of God to let us celebrate another Christmas Eve! For some reason, reflecting on the great mystery of Christ’s incarnation, and on his birth in that
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!
