Contributors

Bishop Robert Barron

Founder of Word on Fire

Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. 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,…

Fellows

Andrew Petiprin

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen Fellow of Popular Culture

Andrew Petiprin is Fellow of Popular Culture at the Word on Fire Institute. He is an author and former Anglican cleric who came into full communion with the Catholic Church…

Dr. Christopher Kaczor

St. Thomas Aquinas Fellow for the Renewal of Catholic Intellectual Life

Dr. Christopher Kaczor is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Loyola Marymount University and the St. Thomas Aquinas Fellow for the Renewal of Catholic Intellectual Life at the Word…

Dr. Holly Ordway

Cardinal Francis George Fellow of Faith and Culture

Dr. Holly Ordway is the Fellow of Faith & Culture of the Word on Fire Institute. She is a Visiting Professor at Houston Baptist University and holds a PhD in…

Jared Zimmerer

Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute

Jared Zimmerer is the Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and the Dean of Pastoral Fellows. He holds a master’s degree in Theology from Holy Apostles College and…

Joseph Zambon

St. Therese of Lisieux Fellow for Word on Fire Communities

Joe Zambon is the St. Therese of Lisieux Fellow for Word on Fire Communities at the Word on Fire Institute. He studied ministry, Scripture, and ethics at Dominican University College…

John Allen, Jr.

St. Francis de Sales Fellow of Communications & Media

John Allen Jr. is the St Francis de Sales Fellow of Communications & Media at the Word on Fire Institute and the President and Editor of Crux, an independent online…

Matthew Nelson

Assistant Director of the Word on Fire Institute

Matthew Nelson is an apologist at the Word on Fire Institute. He holds a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, and he is currently pursuing…

Dr. Richard DeClue

Cardinal Henri de Lubac Fellow in Theology

Dr. Richard DeClue is the Cardinal Henri de Lubac Fellow in Theology at the Word on Fire Institute. In addition to his undergraduate degree in theology (Belmont Abbey College), he…

Robert Mixa

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Fellow of Catholic Education

Robert Mixa is the Education Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. He received his M.T.S. in Biotechnology and Ethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. He and his…

Dr. Tod Worner

Evangelization & Culture Managing Editor

Dr. Tod Worner is a husband, father, practicing internal medicine physician, and the Managing Editor of Evangelization & Culture, the Journal of the Word on Fire Institute. His writing can…

Dr. Anthony Pagliarini

Teaching Fellow

Dr. Anthony Pagliarini grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre). After earning his BA in theology and philosophy at Notre Dame, he taught high school in a Catholic mission parish in…

Dr. Matthew Petrusek

Teaching Fellow

Matthew R. Petrusek, PhD is the Fr. Servais Pinckaers Fellow of Catholic Ethics at the Word on Fire Institute. He has authored/edited several books, including Evangelization and Ideology: How to…

Dr. Stacy Trasancos

Teaching Fellow

Stacy A. Trasancos earned a PhD in Chemistry from Penn State University and a MA in Dogmatic Theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Before becoming Catholic, she worked as…

Dr. Stephen Bullivant

Teaching Fellow

Stephen Bullivant is Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion, and Director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society. He holds doctorates in Theology (Oxford, 2009) and…

Fr. Damian Ference

Teaching Fellow

Fr. Damian Ference is a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland and is a doctoral student in philosophy at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Fr. Ference…

Fr. David Meconi, SJ

Teaching Fellow

Fr. David Meconi, S.J. is an Associate Professor of Patristics at St. Louis University. He received his License in Sacred Theology from the University of Innsbruck and a D.Phil (Oxon.)…

Fr. Paul Murray

Teaching Fellow

Paul Murray, OP, an Irish Dominican friar, lives in Rome where he teaches courses at the Angelicum University on the literature of the Western mystical tradition. He is a Fellow…

Fr. Stephen Gadberry

Teaching Fellow

Fr. Stephen Gadberry is a native of Wynne, Arkansas and a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Little Rock, ordained on May 28, 2016. When not preaching at the pulpit,…

Haley Stewart

Teaching Fellow

Haley Stewart is the Managing Editor of Word on Fire Spark and the author of The Grace of Enough, Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life, and The Sister Seraphina Mysteries. She lives in…

Jennifer Frey

Teaching Fellow

Dr. Jennifer Frey is currently an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of South Carolina. Previously, she was a Collegiate Assistant Professor of Humanities at the University of Chicago.…

Leah Libresco

Teaching Fellow

Leah Libresco has worked as a statistics professor, a data journalist, and a Bayesian probability instructor. She grew up as an atheist and converted to Catholicism while studying at Yale.…