Bishop Robert Barron

Bishop Robert Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (http://www.WordOnFire.org).

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.

Father Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992.  He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation’s largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007.  He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.
In addition, Bishop Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal George calls Bishop Barron”one of the Church’s best messengers”.

Bishop Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.

WordOnFire.org
Bishop Barron’s website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Bishop Barron posts we ekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.

TV
EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Bishop Barron’s DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio
Since 1999, Bishop Barron’s weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio – 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Bishop Barron also is a regular commentator on the “Busted Halo Show” on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs
Bishop Barron’s DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness

YouTube
With over 180 online video commentaries by Bishop Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen’s book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel’s The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series “The Sopranos”, “Rome” and more.

Missions
MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Bishop Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.

Books
His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that he leads around the country.

  • Catholicism; 2011
  • Eucharist; 2008
  • Word On Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ; 2008
  • The Priority of Christ: Toward a Post-Liberal Catholicism; June 2007
  • Bridging the Great Divide: Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative, Evangelical Catholic; 2004
  • The Strangest Way: Walking the Christian Path; 2002
  • Heaven in Stone and Glass; 2000
  • And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation; 1998
  • Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master; 1996
  • A Study of the De potentia of Thomas Aquinas in Light of the Dogmatik of Paul Tillich; 1993

Curriculum Vitae

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • 1992 to present: Professor of Systematic Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake, Visiting
  • 2002: Professor, University of Notre Dame

EDUCATION

  • S.T.D., Institut Catholique de Paris, (1992) très honorable Dissertation:  Creation as Discipleship:  A Study of the De potentia of Thomas Aquinas in Light of the Dogmatik of Paul Tillich Advisor:  Michel Corbin
  • S.T.L., University of St. Mary of the Lake, (1986) summa cum laude Thesis:  A Consideration of the Two Natures Doctrine of Chalcedon in Light of the Essence-Existence Metaphysics of Aquinas Advisor:  John Shea
  • M.A., Catholic University of America, (Philosophy) summa cum laude Thesis:  Production and the Political Animal in the Writings of Karl Marx Advisor:  Daniel Dahlstrom

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • 2003: Catholic Press Association Book Award:  The Strangest Way:  Walking the Christian Path.
  • 998: Catholic Press Association Journalism Award:  Best Article—Clergy, Religious, “The Uncanny God”.
  • 1997: Catholic Press Association Book Award:  Thomas Aquinas:  Spiritual Master.
  • 1995: Catholic Press Association Journalism Award:  Best Article—Professional and Special Interest, “Priest as Bearer of the Mystery”.

BOOKS

  • The Priority of Christ: Toward a Post-Liberal Catholicism Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2007.
  • Bridging the Great Divide:  Musings of a Post-Liberal, Post-Conservative, Evangelical Catholic
  • Chicago, IL:  Sheed and Ward, 2004.
  • The Strangest Way:  Walking the Christian Path Maryknoll, NY:  Orbis Books,  2002
  • Heaven in Stone and Glass New York, NY:  Crossroad, 2000
  • And Now I See:  A Theology of Transformation New York, NY:  Crossroad, 1998
  • Thomas Aquinas:  Spiritual Master New York, NY:  Crossroad, 1996
  • A Study of the De potentia of Thomas Aquinas in Light of the Dogmatik of Paul Tillich San Francisco, CA:  Edwin Mellen Press, 1993

ESSAYS IN SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

  • “Why Celibacy Makes Sense” Commonweal, August 12, 2005.
  • “Christian Humanism” Nova et Vetera, Summer 2005.
  • “Christ, the Victor Over Violence” Sign of Peace, Spring 2005.
  • “John Henry Newman Among the Postmoderns”  Newman Studies Journal, Spring 2005.
  • “Why Bernard Lonergan Matters for Pastoral People”  Chicago Studies, Winter, 2004.
  • “The Grandfather and the Voice from the Whirlwind:  Preaching the Problem of Suffering”  Chicago Studies, Spring 2004.
  • “Thomas Merton’s Metaphysics of Peace.”  The Josephinum Journal of Theology Fall 2003.
  • “God as Artist”  Angelicum 80,  2003.
  • “The Liturgical Act and the Church of the 21st Century.”  Antiphon vol. 7, n. 3,  2002.
  • “Comes a Warrior.”  The Sign of Peace, Vol. 2. n.1.  2002.
  • “Evangelizing the American Culture.”  Second Spring,  Fall, 2002.
  • “Beyond Beige Churches:  Modernity and Liturgical Architecture.”  Antiphon Summer 2002.
  • “Considering the Systematic Theology of James William McClendon, Jr.”  Modern Theology Summer 2002.
  • “The Theologies of Karl Rahner and Hans Urs von Balthasar:  A Dialogue of Theological Styles and Models of Priestly Ministry.”  special publication of The National Federation of Priests’ Councils,  September 2000.
  • “Beyond Beige Catholicism.”  Church June, 2000.
  • “The Liturgy as a Display of God’s Justice.”  Antiphon February, 2000.
  • “Mystagogues, World-Transformers, and Interpreters of Tongues.”  Seminary Journal October, 1999.
  • “Priest as Mystagogue and Doctor of Souls:  A Conversation Revisited.”  Josephinum Journal of Theology April, 1999.
  • “The Uncanny God.”  Chicago Studies August, 1997.
  • “The Danger of Moderation.”  Church December, 1996.
  • “Thomas Aquinas’s Theological Method and the Icon of Jesus Christ.”  Doctor Communis August, 1996.
  • “Priest as Doctor of the Soul.”  Church June, 1996.
  • “Fundamentalist Anthropology and a Catholic Response.”  Chicago Studies April, 1996.
  • “Christian, Missionary of Hope.”  Chicago Studies August, 1994.
  • “Priest as Bearer of the Mystery.”  Church June, 1994.

ESSAYS IN BOOKS

  • “The Metaphysics of Co-Inherence:  A Meditation on the Essence of the Christian Message” in The Church in the 21st Century, Forthcoming from Crossroad, 2006.
  • “God” in The Blackwell Companion to Catholicism Forthcoming from Blackwell, 2007.
  • “The Church is Priestly” in The Many Marks of the Church,  (New London, CT.: 23rd Publications), 2006.
  • “Christian Humanism” in John Paul II and St. Thomas Aquinas (Naples, Fl.:  Sapientia Press), 2006.
  • “Evangelizing the American Culture” in Secularity and the Gospel (New York:  Crossroad), 2006.
  • “Thomas Aquinas:  Post-Modern.”  In Sacramental Presence in a Post-Modern Context (Leuven:  Peeters Press), 2001.
  • “Paul Tillich’s Theology of Revelation in the Dogmatik of 1925.”  In Etudes sur la Dogmatique (1925) de Paul Tillich (Quebec:  Les Presses de l’Université de Laval), 1999.

BOOK REVIEWS

  • Jim Fodor and Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Aquinas in Dialogue:  Thomas for the Twenty-First Century in The Thomist, forthcoming in 2007.
  • Simon Francis Gaine, Will There Be Free Will in Heaven?  Freedom, Impeccability and Beatitude in Modern Theology, July 2005.
  • Nicholas M. Healy, Thomas Aquinas:  Theologian of the Christian Life in The Thomist, July 2004.
  • Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience:  Notes on Contemplation in The Merton Seasonal, January 2004.
  • Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering, Knowing the Love of Christ:  An Introduction to the Theology of St.
  • Thomas Aquinas in Interpretation:  A Journal of Bible and Theology July 2003.
  • The Journal Nova et Vetera in The St. Austin Review May/June 2003.
  • Herbert McCabe, God Still Matters in Horizons Winter 2003.
  • Kenan Osborn, Sacraments in a Postmodern World:  A Theology for the Third Millenium in Josephinum Journal of Theology April 2001.
  • Richard John Neuhaus,  Appointment in Rome in Pro Ecclesia Vol. IX, n. 4, Winter 2000.
  • Professional Presentations and Invited Lectures
  • “The Four Evangelical Essentials”  Keynote Address at the North American Institute on Catholic Evangelization, sponsored by the USCCB, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2006.
  • “John Henry Newman as Bridge-Builder”  The 2006 Leblond Lecture at the Athanaeum of Cincinnati, April 2006.
  • “Augustine’s Questions:  Why the Augustinian Theology of God Matters Today”  The 2006 Habiger Lecture at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, March 2006.
  • “The Strange God of St. Anselm:  A Re-consideration of the Ontological Argument”  The 2006 Dehon Lecture at The Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, March 2006.
  • “Announcing the Lordship of Jesus Christ:  The Evangelical Task Within the Context of the Contemporary Culture”  The 2006 Fr. Carl Peter Lecture at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, January, 2006.
  • “Proclaiming a Message of Freedom”  A lecture delivered to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their spring assembly in Chicago, 2005.
  • “Evil and Suffering:  Where is God to be Found?  Our Religions Respond”  Panelist for the 2005 Stanley C. Golder Interfaith Lecture, Northfield, Ill., April 30, 2005.
  • “Three Augustinian Questions”  Annual Augustine Lecture at John Carroll University in Cleveland, March 2005.
  • “Lex Orandi Lex Vivendi:  The Liturgy as a Source for the Moral Life.”  The Martin M. Kelly Memorial Lecture, Tulane University, October 23, 2003.
  • “Creation, Transsubstantiation, and the Grain of the Universe.”  Meeting of the Ekklesia Group, De Paul University, July 2003.
  • “The Christian Humanism of Karol Wojtyla and Thomas Aquinas.”  John Paul II and the Renewal of Thomistic Theology Conference.  Ave Maria College, Ypsilanti, MI, August 2003.
  • “God as Artist.”  Address for the Inauguration of the Academic Year at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, November 2002.
  • “A Theology of Beauty as Evidenced in the Medieval Cathedrals.”  The Landrigan Lecture, The University of Dallas, July 2001.
  • “Merton’s Metaphysics of Peace.”  Keynote Address at the 2001 International Thomas Merton Society, June 2001.
  • “Thomas Aquinas and Post-Modernity.”  Second Annual International Theological Colloquium at the University of Louvain, November 1999.
  • “Thomas Aquinas:  Theologian of the Uncanny God.”  Aquinas Lecture at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., February 1999.
  • “Reflections on the Cosmological Teleology of Thomas Aquinas.”  Meeting of the Catholic Theological Society of America, June 1998.
  • “Thomas Aquinas’s Christological Reading of God and the Creature.”  Aquinas Lecture at the Dominican School of Theology, Berkeley, CA, March 1998.
  • “Genesis and Joyce:  Narratives of Sin, Grace, and Theonomy.”  70th Birthday Symposium for Andrew Greeley, January 1998.
  • “Three Apologetic Strategies:  Correlational, Cosmic, and Liberationist.”  The Mildred and Edward Rylands Lecture in Apologetics, at St. John’s Seminary, Camarillo, CA, September 1996.
  • “Paul Tillich’s Doctrine of Revelation in the Dogmatik of 1925.”  International Paul Tillich Colloquium at L’Université Laval, Quebec, August 1994.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • Conducted a series of six evangelical presentations around the Archdiocese of Chicago under the heading of “Mission Chicago.”
  • Published a DVD entitled Conversion to Christ, 2006.
  • Published a DVD entitled Untold Blessings:  The Three Paths of Holiness, 2005.
  • Host of a sermon program The Word on Fire on WGN Radio in Chicago, 2001-2004 and on
  • Relevant Radio from 2005 to present.
  • Delivered a series of six presentations on WMAQ Radio in Chicago, Lent 2000.
  • Frequent speaker, preacher, and retreat master at venues across the United States.

COURSES TAUGHT

  • Toward a Post-Modern Catholic Theology
  • The Christology of Paul Tillich
  • The Theology of Thomas Merton
  • Issues in the Theology of Thomas Aquinas
  • The Christology of the Poets and Preachers
  • The Theology of Teilhard de Chardin
  • The Christian Doctrine of God
  • The Christology of Hans Urs von Balthasar
  • The Theology of John Henry Newman
  • The Classics of Twentieth Century Theology
  • The Theology of the Reformation
  • The Theology of the 18th and 19th Centuries
  • Post-Liberal Theology
  • Issues in Liberation Theology
  • A Catholic Theology of the Eucharist
  • Doctrine and Method
  • Political and Social Philosophy
  • The Philosophy of Being and God
  • Medieval Philosophy
  • Membership in Professional Organizations
  • The Catholic Theological Society of America
  • The North American Paul Tillich Society
  • G.K. Chesterton Society