It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Bishop Robert Barron began his video series, CATHOLICISM, which delves into the history, beauty, and beliefs of the world’s largest religion. The 10 installments of CATHOLICISM took Bishop Barron to over 50 sites in 16 countries all over the world in an effort to strengthen our faith and teach about Catholic customs, practices, and beliefs through the beauty of the Church and its artistic and written heritage.
Now, to celebrate their success over the last decade, Bishop Barron and his crew at Word On Fire are making the entire series available for free viewing online. The online event will take place from August 7 through August 16, and each day they will feature the next installment of the series.
In order to watch, viewers will need to sign up for a free 10-day pass at the Word on Fire website. The full event will extend through August 19, with the final three days offering limited replays, in case you were unable to watch a few of the episodes during the week.
The WOF website describes the series as a breathtaking piece of high-definition cinematography that illustrates the truth, goodness, and beauty of Catholicism through a multimedia experience. They encourage viewers, “Be illuminated by the spiritual and artistic treasures of this global culture that claims more than one billion of the earth’s people, and discover the full meaning of the faith.”
In 2015, during an interveiw with NPR, Bishop Barron spoke about the experience of making CATHOLICISM:
It was, it was wonderful. I’m quick to add that it was also very hard work. But it was a great privilege to do that. It was an intense two-year period — we filmed from 2008 to 2010. I was still teaching during that time, so I would teach a class and then we’d get on a plane. I’d fly to Uganda, and then I’d come back in time for my next class session, maybe it was six days later. So it was a great adventure, and it took us all over the world. I think that’s what I loved most about the project. We tend to have a pretty myopic view in the Western world. We see the Church through the lens of the American experience or the Western experience. But we have to keep reminding ourselves that America is just 6 percent of the Catholic Church worldwide. We tend to see our issues as the only issues. But then you travel the world and visit somewhere like Namugongo in Uganda, during the Feast of the Ugandan Martyrs, and see half a million people descend on the site where this courageous young man gave his life in 1886. At the time, everyone would have thought that’s the end of Christianity. And now half a million people come there to worship the Lord. This explosion of Christianity in Africa is extraordinary. A hundred years ago, the continent had very few Christians and now there are hundreds of millions. I think that’s a cool story.
And today we celebrate...