5 Catholic leaders to follow to increase your faith

It is imperative to have a balance of historical understanding, daily walk with Christ, and an overall knowledge of issues within the Church. When a balance is achieved, your daily walk with God will substantially increase. To obtain this kind of faith, here are 5 Church leaders you may want to follow:

1.) Dr. Edward Sri: He is the host of the acclaimed series: Symbolon: The Catholic Faith Explained (found on Formed) Dr. Sri is a theologian and best-selling author who mainly sticks to theological and faith topics. He focuses on subjects such as The Mass, The Blessed Mother, The Passion of Christ, and Relativism. Most of his books will tie Jewish roots and history into faith. If you are looking to obtain a more complete understanding, as well as interesting and eye-opening truths about the roots of the faith, then Dr. Sri will certainly enlighten you. You can find his books easily on www.edwardsri.com. You can also listen to his podcast: All Things Catholic with Edward Sri. He also leads pilgrimages to the Holy Lands each year.

2.) Cardinal Robert Sarah: He was born in Guinea and has been cardinal since 2010. He serves as the Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His motto is “my grace is sufficient for thee,” taken from 2 Corinthians 12:9. He is a forceful advocate for the defense of traditional Catholicism when it comes to subjects such as sexual morality, Islam, abortion, and gender identity. He has publicly declared that homosexuality and abortion is of “demonic origin.” Cardinal Sarah, although a staunch advocate for defending traditional Catholicism, has proposed a balance of understanding between the different liturgies by encouraging that partisans of the liturgies learn from each other and seek middle ground. He has been suggested by many media outlets as a possible candidate to become pope. He’s an author of several books, of which my favorite is The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise. He has also authored Catechism of the Spiritual Life, For Eternity: Restoring the Priesthood and Our Spiritual Fatherhood, The Day is Now Far Spent, God or Nothing, and Couples Awaken Your Love. You can find his books on Amazon.

3.) Dr. Scott Hahn: Dr. Hahn is a Protestant pastor convert who enlightens the individual to powerful insights of the Bible. He often says that he teaches and reads Scripture “from the heart of the Church” and desires for all Catholics to do the same. His focus is almost exclusively on Sacred Scripture, the doctrines of the faith as they relate to Scripture and applying the teachings of Scripture to your daily life. He is the founder and president of the St. Paul Center, an apostolate that is dedicated to teaching Catholics to read Scripture. He serves as the Scanlan Professor of Biblical Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is arguably the most influential American Catholic author and speaker over the past three decades since his conversion. He has authored an abundance of books, which include best sellers Rome Sweet Rome (his conversion story), The Lamb’s Supper, Hail Holy Queen, and the Fourth Cup. His most recent releases are Hope to Die, and Holy Is His Name: The Transforming Power of God’s Holiness in Scripture. You can find his books at: www.StPaulCenter.com. You can also listen to his teachings on his podcast: The Road to Emmaus.

4.) Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Bishp Schneider is a Kazakhstani bishop who serves as bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan. He is a supporter of the traditional Catholic way of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and while kneeling in the liturgy. He advocates for this posture of reception of the Eucharist in his book Dominus Est. In this book, Bishop Schneider highlights the history of receiving Communion on the tongue and while kneeling by tracing its origins back to the 5th century and throughout the chastisement of priests in the 7th and the 9th centuries for refusing to follow this tradition. He has also authored books such as: The Catholic Mass: Steps to Restore the Centrality of God in the Liturgy, Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age, and Doctrina Christiana.

He is an advocate for reconciling the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) with Rome. He has also been a proponent of eliminating corruption and scandal within the Church and strengthening the Church’s adherence to Biblical teachings and Tradition. You can receive email updates from him at. www.gloriadei.io and you can find his books on Amazon.

5.) Dr. Taylor Marshall: He is a YouTube Commentator, former Episcopal Church priest, and is widely known for his no-holds barred defense of Traditional Catholicism. He is the most-viewed Catholic YouTube podcaster (at the time of this writing) and his videos have received over 100 million downloads and over 425K subscribers. He has served as the Assistant Director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington D.C. and has made appearances on EWTN. He was an Episcopal priest in Fort Worth, Texas prior to his reception into the Catholic Church on May 23, 2006. Although Marshall is controversial at times, as evidenced by his accusations that COVID shutting down churches and public Masses was divine judgment because of the Pachamama chaos at the Vatican, one can learn a lot from following Marshall in relation to viewing current events and issues of the Church through the eyes of Catholic teaching and history.

You can follow him through his website: www.taylormarshall.com and there you will find an easy-to-navigate site where you can order his books, link to his social media accounts, and receive a free copy of his e-book Thomas Aquinas in 50 Pages. You can sign up to receive free emails with Catholic updates. He is an author of multiple books, including the best-selling book: Infiltration.

By incorporating a healthy following of each of these three massive Catholic leaders into daily life, you will grow a stronger faith. You will be able to defend the faith more effectively to others who do not believe. You will also see Christ, the Mass, the saints, and the Church in ways you have never seen it before now. This is certainly not an exclusive list of major Catholic leaders for which you can benefit. They are, however, a great start if you are seeking a stronger walk with the Lord.