Born in 1959, Fr. Barron was ordained in 1986 as a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He received a Master's Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in 1982 and a doctorate in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of Paris (1989-1992), writing on St. Thomas Aquinas in dialogue with protestant theologian Paul Tillich. He is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is also the founder of the global media ministry Word on Fire, which reaches millions of people by utilizing the tools of new media to draw people into or back to the Catholic Faith.