Ascension Parish Mission April 4th & 5th

Father 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 has taught moral theology at various ecclesiastical institutions at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

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.

Father 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 Vatican¹s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.

Father John is a published author.  He has written several books. His most widely known book is called The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer. His most recent book is Spiritual But Not Religious; The Search for Meaning in a Material World.

Before moving to Atlanta to join the territorial team, Father John resided in Michigan, where he practiced his writing apostolate and served as superior for his religious community. On March 30, 2020, he was named to the North American Territorial Council for the Legionaries of Christ. March 21, 2023, he was appointed for a second term on the council and was appointed as the new Territorial Vicar (term to begin on July 1, 2023).

Mission begins after the 6:30 PM Mass, so will begin approximately 7:00 PM.