Probably the greatest service Bishop Barron lends to St. More than 800 years after his death, the story of how this son of a wealthy merchant seeking only fame and glory - but then so utterly transformed by an intimate encounter with God - became an ascetic agent of change and reform is presented in a simple, relevant and powerful template. It was difficult not to be moved by this beautifully photographed examination of Francis’ life, with Bishop Barron as a personal guide on the same cobblestoned streets where Francis walked and inside the same holy places where he experienced God’s transformative touch. Francis episode is any indication, Bishop Barron and Word on Fire are making significant strides in motivating young Catholics.Īnd what better way to counteract pervasive secularism than with an investigation into the life of someone who embraced radical Christianity: St. If the audience at the screening of the St. He also has a strong desire to inspire young Catholics to embrace the programming and become evangelization counterweights to the radical secular world. Though Bishop Barron doesn’t mind preaching to the choir, he also has a pronounced wish to, as he puts it, “reach beyond the wall” and stir people who may be on the outside of the Church and intrigue them enough by the series where they might take a look inside. The series is scheduled to air on PBS sometime in the fall, but is currently available for purchase. Like Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who used well the most modern technology of his day (television), Bishop Barron makes the complex simple and has developed his own communications strategy utilizing the technology available to him - public television, the Internet and direct DVD sales - that will get Pivotal Players into the hands of the broadest audience possible. Thomas Aquinas, “The Theologian” and Michelangelo, “The Artist.”īishop Barron is a born teacher who not only loves his subject, but has the twin gifts of being able to communicate it to others with joy and simplicity.

Francis Assisi, “The Reformer” (the subject of the previewed installment) John Henry Newman, “The Convert” St. Whereas the first incarnation of Catholicism covered the “big” picture of the foundation and establishment of the Church, Pivotal Players tells the story of how that same Church was blessed by faith and connectedness to God through intimate stories of extraordinary persons, such as St. Less a companion piece to Word on Fire’s 10-part documentary Catholicism, this new venture, with an initial six segments, is more a natural progression from its predecessor. 31, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles and his Word on Fire Ministries presented a “sneak peek” of the first installment of their new series, Catholicism: The Pivotal Players on the campus of Christ Cathedral in Orange County, Calif.

Catholicism series bishop barron