Seminary and Graduate School of Theology - Mundelein Seminary

Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Chair of Faith and Culture
In 2008, the Archbishop of Chicago began an endowment with a portion of a generous gift from an
alumnus of Mundelein Seminary to establish a chair for the study of faith and culture. An additional
annual gift from the Word on Fire Global Ministry supports the research professorship. In addition
to seminary teaching, research and writing, the George Professor has the responsibility for public
lecturing and bringing the insights of the Catholic tradition into dialogue with American culture, especially
the various professions. The first Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture is
Very Rev. Robert E. Barron.
The Very Reverend Robert E. Barron
The Very Rev. Robert Barron, was appointed Rector / President of the University of Saint Mary of
the Lake / Mundelein Seminary in 2012. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in
1986. He served as associate pastor of Saint Paul of the Cross Parish before undertaking postgraduate
studies in France. Upon completion of his doctorate, he joined the faculty of the University
of Saint Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary. Father Barron has held a number of positions
at Mundelein, including chairperson and professor in the Department of Systematic Theology and
associate director of the Doctor of Ministry Program. Additionally, Father Barron founded Word on
Fire, a Catholic evangelism ministry. He is the author of eight books, including The Strangest
Way: Walking the Christian Path, Creation as Discipleship, A Study of the DePotentia of Thomas
Aquinas in Light of the Dogmatik of Paul Tillich, Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master, And Now I
See: A Theology of Transformation, Heaven in Stone and Glass and Bridging the Great Divide and
The Word on Fire: Proclaiming the Power of Christ and of the Priority of Christ: Toward a Postliberal
Catholicism. Articles on theology and the spiritual life have appeared in numerous journals. Father
Barron received the M.A. (Philosophy) from the Catholic University of America, the S.T.B.,
M.Div., and S.T.L. from the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary and the S.T.D.
from the Institut Catholique de Paris.
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