BISHOP ROBERT BARRON is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is also the host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic faith, which aired on PBS.
Bishop Barron is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and has published numerous books, essays, and articles on theology and the spiritual life. He is a religion correspondent for NBC and has also appeared on FOX News, CNN, and EWTN.
Bishop Barron’s website, WordOnFire.org, reaches millions of people each year, and he is one of the most-followed Catholics on social media. His regular YouTube videos have been viewed more than 20 million times and he has over 1.4 million followers on Facebook. Bishop Barron’s pioneering work in evangelizing through the new media led Francis Cardinal George to describe him as “one of the Church’s best messengers.” He has keynoted many conferences and events all over the world, including the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków and the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which marked Pope Francis’s historic visit to the United States.
Bishop Barron’s latest film series and study program, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players, debuted in September 2016 and has been syndicated for national television.
JOHN L. ALLEN JR. is the editor of Crux, specializing in coverage of the Vatican and the Catholic Church. He has written nine books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs and is also a popular speaker on Catholicism both in the United States and internationally. Veteran religion writer Kenneth Woodward of Newsweek described John as “the journalist other reporters—and not a few cardinals—look to for the inside story on how all the pope’s men direct the world’s largest church.” John’s articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, the New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Tablet, Jesus, Second Opinion, The Nation, the Miami Herald, Die Furche, and the Irish Examiner. He is a senior Vatican analyst for CNN, and was a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter for sixteen years.
A native of Kansas, John received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Fort Hays State University and a master’s degree in religious studies from the University of Kansas. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Ontario; Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois; St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont; Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts; and the University of Dallas in Texas.