Word on Fire is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

media organization founded by Bishop

Robert Barron Robert Emmet Barron (born November 19, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester since 2022. He is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, and ...

that uses digital and

traditional media Old media, or legacy media, are the mass media institutions that dominated prior to the Information Age; particularly print media, film studios, music studios, advertising agencies, radio broadcasting, and television. Old media institutions ar ...

to introduce Catholicism to the broader world. It rose to prominence through Barron's work as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

engaging with

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

, and has been noted as an effective model for sharing information about Catholicism to the public.

Media formats

Barron initially worked through radio and television, hosting the ''Word on Fire'' radio show on

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

and the ''Word on Fire with Father Barron'' television show on

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...

. Barron eventually expanded to online distribution through

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, and is active in distributing videos on YouTube. In addition to this, Word on Fire distributes spiritual media, such as DVDs and books, for individual and group study.

''Catholicism'' series (2011)

In 2011, Word on Fire published ''Catholicism'', a ten-part video documentary series that explores the cultural, spiritual, and historical elements of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Offered on DVD, the series was also broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations, prompting PBS's

ombudsmen An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

to issue a statement clarifying to the public that it was neither distributed by PBS nor produced using PBS funding, the latter of which was expressed as a concern by PBS viewers. The series has received much praise from figures like papal biographer

George Weigel George Weigel (born 1951) is a Catholic neoconservative American author, political analyst, and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the ...

Cardinal Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

and

Cardinal Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Yakima and ...

for its effort in pursuing the new evangelization in the modern world.

References

{{reflist

External links

Word on Fire official website
YouTube channels
Word on Fire Bishop Robert Barron

Word on Fire Institute
Catholic advocacy groups Catholic media Televangelism Catholic radio programs Christian mass media in the United States Television shows about Catholicism Catholic websites

Media formats

''Catholicism'' series (2011)

See also

References

External links