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 Pete, I detect a tinge of unhealthy hesitancy in your latest emails. Reading between the lines, it seems that you are using comfort and ease as the criteria for
Dear Jeannie, Let me get this straight. You have discovered your talent for making money and running a business, so you think you need to put your faith on the
Dear Rick, Glad to hear that you’re conscientiously gearing up for your senior year. During this year, whether you like it or not, the buck is going to stop with
Dear Virgil, Your plan for a new apologetics club looks, if I may be honest, excellent. I am certain that setting up your booth during freshmen orientation (it’s hard to
Dear Max, As a convert, you have to be careful. You didn’t grow up imbibing the Catholic worldview; you imbibed the Protestant worldview, which is different. One of the differences
Dear Ben, I was glad to hear that you are struggling against tedium. A summer working nine-to-five fixing screws at the factory, and just about to start a school year
Dear Kerri, I hope you’re finding time for some needed rest. You’ve worked hard this summer and junior year is right around the corner – I don’t want you to
Dear Clark, Frankly, you lack willpower. Don’t be offended; you need to hear the truth, it’s the only remedy for your dissipation. Think for a minute about all those good
Dear Larry, I hope you are finding a happy way to celebrate this happy day. My most memorable St Lawrence Day was in Rome. He’s a favorite there. His feast
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!
