[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8605-H8606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     WELCOMING BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Suozzi) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I rise to welcome Bishop Robert Barron, 
who gave the opening prayer today, here to the Chamber.
  Bishop Barron is the second-most followed Catholic on social media 
after the Pope. He is a remarkable man who

[[Page H8606]]

has inspired me and my wife and my family for many years, and I am 
honored to have brought him here to the Nation's Capital where, 
yesterday, he addressed several dozen Members of Congress, as well as 
their staff members.
  Bishop Barron was ordained as a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago 
33 years ago. In July 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Barron to be 
the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is the 
founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, an innovative new hub for 
spiritual and intellectual formation, where he produces daily 
meditations, weekly homilies, movies on pivotal players in Catholic 
history, reviews of movies, and debates with sometimes-controversial 
thought leaders of today's culture.

  Bishop Barron, as I said, is the second-most followed Catholic on 
social media, second only to the Pope. His regular YouTube videos have 
been viewed over 40 million times, and he has over 1.7 million 
followers on Facebook.
  He is a number one Amazon bestselling author and has published 16 
books. He has created the groundbreaking documentary ``Catholicism,'' 
which aired on PBS. He has eight other films and study programs.
  He is a religious correspondent for NBC and has appeared on FOX News 
and CNN, as well as other stations. He has been invited to speak about 
religion at the headquarters of Facebook, Google, and Amazon, and, now, 
the United States Congress.

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