It’s hard to believe that time is moving so fast, but Word on Fire is celebrating its 25th anniversary in this the Jubilee Year of Hope. As it celebrates the milestone, Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire, and his team are assessing the direction of the apostolate and making bold plans for its future.
Word on Fire has announced that it plans to expand its publishing efforts, delve deeper into the realm of film production, and (perhaps most excitingly) establish a Word on Fire order of priests. The intention is for the new religious order to take up and continue the work of Bishop Barron and Word on Fire for years to come.
In this way, Word on Fire is confident that its ongoing effectiveness and expansion of its evangelization efforts will be ensured.
Religious order
In its announcement, Word on Fire describes a small, budding religious order that will be initially be composed of three to five priests and three to five novices of the order. While the announcement does not reveal what color vestments the order would wear, it did note that Word on Fire has already secured a home for the order in Rochester, Minnesota. There, the priests will begin living in community according to a rule established by Bishop Barron, and learn to evangelize within the Word on Fire ethos.
“We pray that this order will exist in perpetuity, leading the way in evangelization and drawing people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ,” Word on Fire organizers wrote.
Film and publishing
On the film side of Word on Fire’s expansion, the ministry intends on continuing and broadening the scope of its efforts to include high-impact documentary and narrative films meant to engage the culture. It seeks to begin releasing films in theaters, as well as on its digital platform in order to potentially reach millions with its faithful message.
Meanwhile, Word on Fire’s publishing section – already one of the top Catholic book publishing operations in the world – is planning to branch out in a variety of directions. Plans are in the works to release deluxe editions of some of the Great Books of Western Civilization, spanning literature to history, philosophy to theology, and politics to poetry.
Along with a 13-year project to translate and publish an authoritative English edition of the entire German collected works of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Word on Fire Luminor will create a new literary imprint that publishes high-quality, relevant works of fiction, poetry, drama, creative nonfiction, and aesthetic criticism.
Word on Fire does note that all of these plans will require a large amount of funds in order to bring them to fruition. With the goal of raising $25 million, Word on Fire has asked that those interested in supporting their ministry consider donating to the cause.
Learn more about Word on Fire’s ambitious goals for the future at their official website.
