Meet the Newsletter Contributors

Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010.

He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller, Inside the Passion, the only authorized, behind-the-scene explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican’s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.

His most widely known books are “The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer” and “60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple“.

His most recent book is Spiritual But Not Religious; The Search for Meaning in a Material World.

Fr. John currently resides in Atlanta, where he is serving as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ. His online, do-it-yourself retreats are available at RCSpirituality.org.

Nicole Buchholz has been a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi for 21 years. Her vocation has taken her from a small town in Montana to Rhode Island, Florida, Georgia, and the Philippines, with mission trips to Mexico and Haiti. She has contributed to the spreading of Christ’s kingdom in various schools and universities, working with youth and young adults through clubs, missions, camps, and retreats, as well as with adult women and families. Nicole is currently a regular contributor to the website Gratia Vobis Ministries and enjoys being a spiritual guide and preaching retreats and reflections.

Glory Darbellay is from Saskatchewan, Canada, and made her vows as a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi in 1994. She has a Bachelors degree in Pastoral Studies, and a Masters degree in Religious Sciences. She has served in leadership positions for youth, as a spiritual director and retreat leader for women, and in Territorial leadership for the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi. Currently, she is the director of the Formation Center for the consecrated women in temporary vows and lives in Madrid, Spain.

Fr. Nikola Derpich, L.C., S.Th.D., was born in California to a Croatian-American family and received a BA with a double major in Computer and Information Sciences and Literature with an Emphasis on Creative Writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1989. He worked in the computer industry for seven and half years as a technical support engineer and a technical writer. He entered the Legionaries of Christ in 1997, making his first vows in 1999, and received B.A.’s in Philosophy and Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in 2001 and 2006, respectively. He was ordained a Catholic priest on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in 2006, and continued his studies, receiving an S.T.L. in Theology in 2008 and a S.Th.D. in dogmatic theology in 2015. Since ordination he has worked inRegina Apostolorum as U.S. Enrollment Coordinator of the School of Bioethics, as theology instructor in Our Lady of Thornwood (Thornwood, N.Y.), Mater Ecclesiae College (Greenville, R.I.) during which he was also chaplain for Overbrook Academy, and Regina Apostolorum. As a Legionary he was a contributor toSacerdos magazine from 2000-2006, writing the column Priests of the Twentieth Century. From 2017-2020 he was Associate Pastor at St. Brendan the Navigator Catholic Church in Cumming, GA. From 2012-2021 he taught theology as a professor at Regina Apostolorum.  He wrote the liturgy blog Finding the Plug for RCSpirituality from 2015-2018. He wrote Maximizing the Mass and managed and contributed for the RCSpirituality Online Classroom.

Donna resides in Omaha Nebraska with her husband, Jeff, of 33 years, with whom she has four grown children, and they have three grandchildren. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and several certificates in catechesis, biblical studies, and most recently, spiritual direction from Divine Mercy University. 

A Regnum Christi Member of 22 years, Donna has served as team leader, section director, local coordinator, and local director. She also served five years on the governance board of RC in North America and three years on the board of RC Education.

Currently, Donna is the Director of RC Life Department and Director of RC Spirituality Center, and she sits on the board for Catholic Worldview Fellowship.

Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC, ordained to the priesthood in 2001, teaches theology and Scripture at Mater Ecclesiae College in Greenville, RI, and serves as chaplain at Overbrook Academy in Warwick, RI. He holds degrees from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Connecticut, the Regina Apostolorum Athenaeum in Rome, and Northwestern University in Illinois. He was an assistant publisher of the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine, and an editor of the Zenit news agency’s English edition, and he has written for SpiritualDirection.com and ePriest. He also worked in spiritual retreats in the Northeast, New England, the Midwest and the South, and done mission work in Mexico. Born in Philadelphia, he worked in journalism and was active in the pro-life movement before entering the novitiate of the Legion of Christ in 1992. His contributions to RCSpirituality include responding to Ask A Priest questions and sharing his insights in our Weekly Newsletter.

Fr. John Pietropaoli, LC, was born in Malone, New York and entered the Novitiate of the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, Connecticut, in September of 2000. After studying Classical Humanities in Cheshire, Connecticut, and Philosophy and Theology in Rome, Italy, he was ordained a priest, on December 15, 2012. Fr. John completed a Licentiate Degree in Spiritual Theology in Rome in 2014, served as chaplain at Divine Mercy University in Virginia from 2014-2017, and is currently as superior of the Legionary community in Philadelphia from 2017-2020.

He currently serves as a professor at the Legionaries of Christ College of Humanities in Cheshire. He wrote Homily Packs at ePriest.com and his contributions to RCSpirituality include writing Retreat Guides and RC Essays, co-presenting podcasts at Two Priests and a Mic and sharing his insights in our Weekly Newsletter.

Jennifer Ristine is a consecrated woman of Regnum Christi, which is a Society of Apostolic Life in the Catholic Church.  She consecrated her life to God in 1997 and is currently stationed in the DC area, engaged in faith and spiritual formation primarily through teaching, writing, conferences, retreats, and spiritual direction.  She is a contributor for RC Spirituality, instructor for the new online Spiritual Director Certificate course at Divine Mercy University in Virginia, and author of Mary Magdalene: Insights from Ancient Magdala and Nine Days with Mary Magdalene.  From August 2014 to July 2018, prior to arriving in DC, she served as the Director of the Magdalena Institute and the Visitors’ Center Coordinator in Magdala, the ancient hometown of Mary Magdalene, a first-century Jewish site and Christian pilgrim center.  Jennifer obtained degrees in Special Education from Western Illinois University, Pastoral and Religious studies from Regina Apostolorum in Rome, and her Masters in Theology from Catholic Distance University in Virginia. She most recently continued studies in Ignatian and Carmelite spirituality in Spain.