The Pivotal Players

by Robert Barron

The Catholic Church has produced countless influential saints, artists, mystics, and intellectuals over the past 2,000 years. Among them are men and women who not only influenced the life of the Church— but who also impacted the course of history. This inspiring book by Bishop Robert Barron is based on the multi-part film series ‘ The Pivotal Players’. Bishop Barron draws readers into the life and work of twelve Pivotal Players from great saints including St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to literary masters such as G.K. Chesterton and Flannery O’ Connor.

Genres: Catholic, Christian, Religion, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the former Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org).

Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.

Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.

Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.

In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.

Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.

Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.

DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.

YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.

Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h

Reviews

[Erin Kasprowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not only inspiring but beautifully crafted. While telling about Saints that lived extraordinary lives the writing itself also drew me into contemplation of God and the world He has created.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really dug this ngl

[Ruth D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is a fun, quick, and inspirational read. It's also beautiful to turn through. I like that it's an introduction to other areas for reading... a summary of G.K.'s of Thomas' writing will make it easier to appreciate if you start down that path.

[Lynnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book containing well-written introductions to each of the 12 "Pivotal Players" Bishop Barron has chosen to highlight. Each essay leaves the reader wanting to learn more about these inspiring people and the lives they lived.

[Ted Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PIVOTAL PLAYERS is a collection of "12 heroes who shaped the Church and changed the world". Bishop Robert Barron has edited and elaborated this book from the scripts of his film series of the same name. It is extremely well written with a biographical sketch, discussion of each person's contributions, and justification by Bishop Barron why each is considered a 'pivotal player'; complete with rich and beautiful, meaningful art and photography associated with each exemplar of Catholicism. This PIVOTAL PLAYERS volume should assume a place of prominence on your spiritual bookshelf to be referenced and reread. 5.0 rating, worthy of more...Bishop Barron is a true inspiration.

[Brace1737 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bishop Robert Barron profiles twelve Catholics who made outstanding contributions to the life of the Church. Some names are familiar to every catholic and some are not.

Comment: This book is based on the TV series "Catholicism the Pivotal Players". I'm a "read the book, don't wait for the movie" person but the video series did come first. The book is well worth reading to give the reader time to think about the important conceprts that Bishop Barron presents.

[Anne Farrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not really meet my expectations. I thought it would be much more readable and convey a lot of information around various saints and "pivotal players" of whom I had little knowledge. While the short bio portion of each chapter was informative, much of the book seemed geared toward readers who already have a great deal of knowledge on these saints and were looking for more in depth philosophical discussion than I was. Overall I found this to be a difficult and not overly rewarding read.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showcases 12 figures throughout history and explains why they were (and are) pivotal in bringing Christ to their day and age. Beautifully illustrated, with short overviews and analyses as to why these men and women were so impactful in their age, and continue to inspire you this day. A wonderful book which shows the wealth of differences that the Faith inspires, and the diversity of ways the Faith can be shared.

[Revesk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the companion book to the video series, The Pivotal Players. As a physical book, it is well made and beautifully illustrated. It consists of 12 biographies which explain why each person is a pivotal player in the Church. Each chapter gives a brief suggestion on how we can allow the example of that "Pivotal Player" to call us to follow Christ with fidelity.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers twelve people, men and women, some canonized and others not, living in different time periods and locations, that influenced the Catholic Church and even society in general. It roughly follows the commentary of the video series Pivotal Players by Bishop Baron.

[Chris Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on 12 people who shaped the Catholic Church based on video series.

[Alex Whigham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book. Learnt about catholics I new nothing about and learnt more about the ones that I new already. The book is very beautiful and filled with art!

[Benjamin Sisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring collection of stories from the lives of some of our greatest Saints.

[Virginia Bieszad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was highly philosophical and theological so at points I had no idea what was being explained. I still enjoy Bishop Barron though.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

[Chris McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

very inspirational