NEW YORK, March 21, 2012 — A young adventurer risks his life to reunite trafficked children with their families; African-American maids in the South reclaim their dignity through sharing their stories; a priest travels around the world to explore the history of the Catholic Church. These stories and more are told in the 22 feature films, TV/Cable programs, and books for adults and young people being honored with Christopher Awards, to be presented in New York on May 24th, 2012.

Created in 1949, The Christopher Awards are presented to writers, producers, directors and illustrators whose work affirms the highest values of the human spirit. Christopher Awards program manager, Tony Rossi, says, “Not only are this year’s winners entertaining, engaging and inspiring, they also reflect the power of our individual choices to shape the lives of others in unexpected ways”...

Read more about the various award recipients, including the CATHOLICISM Series, here.

March 15, 2012:

CatholicTV Monthly's February issue features a full-length special on Father Barron and CATHOLICISM.

Read the story and view the photos here.

March 15, 2012:

"Catholics urged to find new ways to evangelise"

The onliine publication of the Archdiocese of Brisbane in Australia, The Catholic Leader, reported on Father Barron's presentation at the Edmund Rice Performing Arts Centre at St Laurence's College, South Brisbane, on March 8-- part of a national tour sponsored by Australian Catholic University.

Read the article here.

March 14, 2012:

Catholic News Agency featured Father Barron's article, "Cleansing of the Temple."

Read the article here.

March 7, 2012:

Father Barron's article, "Let's stop talking about evangelization and do it!" was featured on the Catholic News Agency website. 

Read the article here.

March 6, 2012:

The Anchor, the weekly publication of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, praises CATHOLICISM as "an important evengelical tool."

By Kenneth J. Souza, Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER, Mass. — One of the key concepts Father Robert Barron had when he first set out to create his acclaimed 10-part documentary series “Catholicism” was to find a way to bring together the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith.

“That was a big motivating factor for me,” Father Barron told The Anchor. “I wanted to show the texture of Catholicism. We have all this great, visible wealth in the Church and I didn’t want to reduce it to just words and ideas. Whenever we had an idea to present, we asked ourselves: ‘How can we show that idea?’ And that’s really what inspired the whole series”...

Read the article here.

March 6, 2012:

The Age, a national news publication in Australia, featured the story of Father Barron's journey through the land down under presenting his CATHOLICISM series,  a ray of light within a "dark time for Catholicism."

Read the full story here.

March 5, 2012:

American theologian, author and film-maker Fr Robert Barron was given a warm welcome by Melbourne’s Catholics—young and old—yesterday as he commenced his inaugural Australian tour.

Fr Barron, from Chicago, is in Australia for two weeks with his film crew, to continue his documentary work and to promote his 10-part series called Catholicism, which was first aired on America’s public broadcasting network last September.

Hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Parousia Media, Fr Barron will speak with students and staff at ACU’s Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Ballarat campuses, as well as members of the broader community in a series of public talks...

Read the article here.

March 2, 2012:

Chicago priest Fr Robert Barron, often described as "one of the Church's best messengers" and director of the very popular new evangelisation ministry Word on Fire arrives in Australia this weekend for a series of  speaking engagements.

Accompanied by his film crew Fr Barron will also be interviewing a number of our leading clergy including the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell...

Read the press release here.

February 29, 2012:

Irondale, AL (EWTN) – You asked to see it again! Watch the original six episodes of “Catholicism” that previously aired on EWTN – now in a new 30-minute format. (For a complete schedule, please go to www.ewtn.com/series/shows/catholicism.)

“Viewers have also asked about the four episodes to which PBS has exclusive rights,” said EWTN Executive Vice President & COO Doug Keck. “Those rights will soon expire. EWTN is looking forward to airing those episodes when they become available in September.”

If you somehow missed it the first time, Fr. Robert Barron and his film crew visited more than 50 locations in 16 different countries during the four years it took to produce this multimillion-dollar documentary of faith and history. Catholic Commentator George Weigel calls it “the most important media project in the history of the Catholic Church in America.” (See the “Catholicism” trailer at www.CatholicismSeries.com.)

View the press release and schedule here.

February 23, 2012:

“Catholicism” is catching on.

The 10-part DVD series is being shown in parishes around the diocese and a group of prisoners, after seeing one episode, asked to see the entire series.

Read the article on Catholic Free Press.

February 17, 2012:

"Catholicism," the popular 10-part series written and hosted by Father Robert Barron, is being donated to all facets of the Catholic faith communities in the U.S. military across the world by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. The documentary is being sent to support military priests, chaplains and lay leaders serving the pastoral needs of those on ships, deployed overseas, in V.A. medical centers and on U.S. Military installations around the world.

"The 'Catholicism' series provides an effective opportunity to engage active duty young adults in the Catholic faith,” said Mark Moitoza, the Vice Chancellor for Evangelization at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. “We estimate that there are about 300,000 Catholic young adults in the military and our archdiocese recently has been making a concerted effort to reach out to these young men and women serving our country"...

Read the press release here.

February 17, 2012:

Pilot Catholic News, America's oldest Catholic newspaper and the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, released the news that the CATHOLICISM series is coming to viewers in the greater Boston area.

Read the article and find out more information here.

February 17, 2012:

New York Daily News featured an article on Cardinal-elect Timothy Dolan's recent keynote address to the Pope and the College of Cardinals in Rome, in which he spoke extensively about the new media and evangelism. In addition, he praised Father Barron and his ministry, Word on Fire.

Read the article here.

The Reuter's press release on Dolan's speech can be found here.

February 12, 2012: CATHOLICISM Executive Producer Mike Leonard was the keynote speaker at Providence College's first Alumni & Family Weekend, an event that welcomed PC graduates, parents of upperclassmen, as well as prospective students to its Rhode Island campus. Leonard, Providence College class of 1970, spoke for close to an hour about his unexpected faith journey, his involvement with the project, as well as his four critical, life-altering years spent as a hockey player at PC. The crowd of close to 1,000 gave him a standing ovation at the end of his talk.

To read about the event, see here.

February 2, 2012:

"Gifted US Preacher bound for Brisbane": The Archdiocese of Brisbane's Catholic publication, The Catholic Leader, featured and article on the Word on Fire apostolate, the CATHOLICISM series, and Father Barron's upcoming trip to Brisbane.

Read the article here.

January 30, 2012:

Following Pope Benedict XVI's "World Communications Day" message regarding silence and evangelization, Liz Faublas of New York's NETtv interviewed Fr. Barron on the program, Currents.

Watch the interview here.

January 24, 2012: "Servant of the Word banquet, workshop to honor Father Robert Barron"

Father Robert Barron will be in Denver next month to receive this year’s Servant of the Word Award from the Catholic Biblical School.
Read the article in the Denver Catholic Registry.

January 11, 2012: Providence, R.I.-- Rev. Robert Barron, creator and host of the new documentary series Catholicism, and Mike Leonard ’70, the show’s executive producer, will be the keynote speakers on February 11 during Alumni & Family Weekend  at Providence College.

Since the release of Catholicism in September, Father Barron and Leonard have spoken together around the country, but Leonard said the address at PC will mark their first appearance at a college.

Read the entire article here.

January 11, 2012: Public invited to free viewings of popular ‘Catholicism’ series

There are two opportunities coming up in the Denver metro area for people to view all 10 episodes of the documentary series “Catholicism,” created by Father Robert Barron of Word On Fire ministry.

On Wednesday evenings Jan. 18 through Feb. 15, Denver’s Catholic Biblical School will run the series at the John Paul II Center in Denver; and on Monday evenings Jan. 23 through March 26, St. Thomas More Church in Centennial will air episodes.

Read the entire article here.

The New York Times covered the story of Pope Benedict XVI's elevation of 22 priests to the College of Cardinals on the Church's Feast of the Epiphany. Among the 22 was New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan. In the article, Father Barron was quoted regarding this magnanimous figure.

Congratulations to Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the newly-appointed Cardinals.

Read the New York Times article here.

The CATHOLICISM series was recently featured on NBC's Today Show with Father Robert Barron, the host and writer of the series, and Executive Producer Mike Leonard. 

Watch the re-cap of their interview with Ann Curry here.

Father Robert Barron previews the popular documentary on NBC's Today Show and at the New York Times Center.  Read the press release here.

The National Catholic Register reports that CATHOLICISM will be translated, dubbed and broadcast in Germany. See the article here.

The Catholic News Agency ran Father Barron's piece titled "Why We Should Welcome the New Mass" in anticipation of the change on the first Sunday of Advent. Read the column here.

November 19, 2011: Canada's Salt + Light Television will premiere CATHOLICISM on Sunday, November 20, at 8:30pm ET/ 5:30pm PT. The series will continue on Salt + Light every Sunday until the finale on Saturday, December 24.

Additionally, the Salt + Light blog offered a review of the series by contributor Cheridan Eygelaar.

Read the entire review here.

November 18, 2011: Patheos.com's Matt Emerson defends CATHOLICISM in the wake of some critiques made in a recent review.

See his column here.

November 4, 2011: The University of Notre Dame announced plans to host a screening of CATHOLICISM on Thursday, November 10 at 3:30 p.m. The screening will be sponsored by the Colleges of Engineering and Science and will include clips from all 10 episodes as well as a discussion facilitated by Father Barron and the colleges' deans. Fore more details about the event, see the University's news page.

November 1, 2011: The Washington Post's religion blog, "On Faith," featured Father Barron's review of the movie "Ides of March."

Read the review here.

October 31, 2011: Prominent blogger Andrew Sullivan posted Father Barron's commentary on Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life," calling it a "wonderfully sensitive and eloquent Catholic interpretation" of the film. See the video on Sullivan's blog, The Daily Beast, here.

The National Catholic Reporter ran an article about CATHOLICISM's run on PBS stations nationwide.

"A new 10-part video series on the Catholic faith titled "Catholicism" began airing in October on about 70 public television stations around the country. It is the brainchild of Chicago priest Fr. Robert Barron, founder of "Word on Fire Ministries," a nonprofit media company located in Skokie, Ill.

Father Barron and Mike Leonard were recent guests on Chicago Live!, the stage and radio show produced by the Chicago Tribune and The Second City. Father Barron and Leonard, CATHOLICISM's executive producer, spoke about the groundbreaking 10-part journey in the history, art and people behind the faith. Manya Brachear  conducted the interview in front of a live audience at the Chicago Theater. 

October 15, 2011: The Catholic News Service featured a review of CATHOLICISM on their website, calling the series "a visually splendid and intellectually satisfying introduction to Catholic Christianity."

Read the review here.

October 18, 2011: Steven D. Greydanus, popular Christian film critic and moderator of DecentFilms.com, reviews CATHOLICISM for the Christianity Today Entertainment blog. Read his review here.

October 16, 2011: Catherine O'Connell-Cahill recently reviewed CATHOLICISM for the online publication of U.S. Catholic:

Read the article here.

October 12, 2011: The Chicago Tribune's Manya Brachear reports on Father Barron's epic documentary project about the Catholic Church, CATHOLICISM.

October 9, 2011: James Davis of Newsvine.com offered his review of the CATHOLICISM series. 

Read it here. 

Finding Father Robert Barron these days is an easy task. This is good news for those who love the Church, and good news for those on the outside wondering if they should step in, or even back in as the case may be. 

Read more here.

Read entire review here.

October 6, 2011: The Cardinal Newman Society, a Virginia-based organization seeking to strengthen Catholic higher education, praised CATHOLICISM on its blog. View the write-up here. The following is an excerpt of the blog post.

Tune in to Canada's Salt + Light television on Friday, October 7th, at 7 pm as "Perspectives" host Pedro Guevara Mann interviews Fr. Barron about CATHOLICISM.

For more information, click here.

October 6, 2011: The Chicago Sun-Times features Fr. Robert Barron and CATHOLICISM in "Seeing is Believing on 'Catholicism.'"

Read the article here.

The Patheos Book Club, a roundtable discussion featuring a number of theologians, scholars, bloggers, and otherwise informed readers, has chosen Fr. Barron's recently released book, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith for discussion and review. Read the reviews and join the conversation here.

Tim Drake of National Catholic Register interviews Fr. Robert Barron of Word on Fire about  "The Catholicism Project":

How did you first come up with the idea for “The Catholicism Project”?

Classic, revolutionary -- like the Gospels themselves, and also game-changing reality TV.

I wondered whether someone, somewhere, at some point, would do a “Civilization”-like series on Catholicism itself: a Grand Tour of the Catholic world that explored the Church as a culture through its teaching, its art, its music, its architecture—and above all, through the lives it shaped. That has now happened. The result is the most important media initiative in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. 

Recently I posted the first of what are bound to be many, many posts raving about Catholicism; A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and urging you to purchase the book, read it and — you won’t be able to resist — give it to everyone you know.

All about CATHOLICISM:  Watch this extended interview with Fr. Barron on EWTN's "The World Over" with Raymond Arroyo - LIVE from Washington, D.C. on September 15, 2011.

Tune in as "Catholicism" comes to U.S. public television stations this fall, with the first broadcast set for Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 8-10 p.m. EST in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Read more and please check back for updates soon on the WATCH page under TV Listings.

Join Father Barron and the Word on Fire Team this weekend at the World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.

Well, I can think of a lot of things that were remarkable and stay in my memory. One was up on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which is a hard place to get permission to film (in June 2008). 

The Catholic Post, website of the Archdiocese of Peoria, IL, featured an article about Father Barron and Word on fire entitled, "Fr. Barron 'shows off' Catholic faith in 10-part documentary series." 

Read the article here. 

The story of the Catholic Church to be presented on public television this fall.

WTTW, Chicago’s premier public television station, announced that it will premiere and distribute four episodes of Catholicism – a multi-part documentary series for public television – in October 2011 to public television stations nationwide.

Managing Editor of the Catholic Portal at Patheos and a columnist at First Things, Elizabeth Scalia talks of the project with others.

Father Robert Barron is a well-known author and public speaker who has pioneered new efforts in the Catholic Church's outreach with a global media ministry: He's gained a worldwide audience through his website: wordonfire.org. 

The Rev. Robert Barron, a Chicago-based Roman Catholic priest, has made himself a new-media messenger for the church, bringing a Catholic perspective to topics from “Avatar” to atheism to the use of steroids in baseball.

In a bold move to reach Catholics and those searching for Christ in their lives, Father Robert Barron begins broadcasting a weekly national television program on October 3rd.

Father Robert Barron's article entitled, "My Take: Why Christians Should Pray for Christopher Hitchens," was featured on the CNN.com Belief Blog. 

"Perhaps you’ve heard of Christopher Hitchens. He is a British writer and cultural commentator who lives and works in Washington, D.C. For decades now, he has been observing the political/societal scene and writing about it in a particularly insightful, witty and acerbic manner.

20 years into the New Evangelization
Legatus members have embraced the call to evangelize the culture . . . 
Pope John Paul II knew the power of culture, theater and the visual. From his days an actor, he knew these could be leveraged as powerful tools for spreading the Gospel.

Fr Robert Barron is an unusual figure: he not only holds the Chair of Faith and Culture at the seminary at Mundelein, Illinois, but he is also a YouTube evangelist, a "post-liberal, post-conservative evangelical Catholic", as he says.

Fr. Barron's Article Youtube Heresies, On today's virtual Areopagus will be featured in the May 25, 2009 issue of America | The National Catholic Weekly. 

I believe in the existence of angels and demons, and I marvel at the mystery of the spiritual realm, of the hidden world of principalities and powers.

Father Robert Barron's 10-part documentary aims to reveal power and truth of the faith using art, architecture, literature and music.

Anyone who reads about the Catholic Church in the mainstream media knows that we are in serious need of a public relations expert. God knows this, and He has a plan. 

Publishing books, podcasting his sermons and posting movie reviews on his YouTube channel were just warm-ups for Chicago priest and popular theologian Fr. Robert Barron.