Chicago’s Finest

I am delighted by the news that Fr. Robert Barron will be the rector-president of Mundelein Seminary/University of St. Mary of the Lake, outside Chicago. Fr. Barron is responsible for the top-notch Catholicism series that aired, partially, on PBS this fall. The message of this appointment is (at least to this non-seminarista): The New Evangelization is about full-on, faithful, engagement with the culture. He’s a fatherly catechist, a rigorous, compassionate priest, with a humble self-confidence in the Truth he has given his (still-young) life to. At a time of unprecedented challenges, and outright attacks on religious faith — and the Catholic Church in particular — in the wake of scandal, this is good news, as the Good News continues to be proclaimed, using all media available.

Join me in prayer today for Fr. Barron and the men, present and future, of Mundelein? A Hail Mary for the fathers?

(More on and Fr. Father Barron here and here and here.)