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 Bertha, Your enthusiasm is contagious. I just read your most recent note, and I was delighted to see how conscientiously and energetically you are beginning your college career. You’ve
Dear Herbie, I can almost see you licking your lips as you look through the folders of job opportunities at the campus Career Planning and Placement Center. Living your senior
Dear Greg, I commend you on your Chapter Plan. It’s realistic, incisive, focused, and healthily ambitious. If every college had a Compass Chapter with such vision and determination, that country
Dear Bill, It’s no mystery, my precocious nephew. You’re always stressed out because you have tunnel vision. You’re always thinking of yourself and your projects and your likes and your
Dear Jill, Well, there’s no use complaining. You hurt your knee, you had the operation, and now you’ve got to recuperate. It’s going to take time. It will be painful,
Dear Roy, A bit overwhelmed, eh? Yes, you’ve definitely begun a new stage of life. College is, well, different, as you say. So much freedom, so much opportunity, so many
Dear Marge, You are being led astray by one of the devil’s oldest tricks: condemning the sinner because of the sin. I hope you don’t mind if I venture a
Dear Buffy, I knew this was going to happen. Even so, I’m glad it happened sooner rather than later – it gives me a chance to arm you against vanity
Dear Aggie, You have already begun putting together your résumé? Are you in a rush to be done with your senior year? I guess that’s OK, though since you need
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!
