source – http://saltandlighttv.org
Established in 2003, Salt + Light Television is Canada’s first national Catholic television Network.
Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation is a not-for-profit, charitable organization whose goal is to use modern media in its many forms as a tool to connect Catholics to their faith.
Fr. Thomas Rosica is a priest of the Congregation of St. Basil (Basilian Fathers). He was born in 1959 in Rochester, New York [USA]. After attending elementary and secondary school in Rochester, he received a Bachelors of Arts in Italian and French Language and Literature from St. John Fisher College in May 1980. Fr. Rosica was ordained a priest in the Congregation of St. Basil on April 19, 1986 in Rochester.
He holds advanced degrees in Theology and Sacred Scripture from Regis College in the Toronto School of Theology [1985], the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome [1991] and the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem [1994].
Fr. Rosica has lectured in Sacred Scripture at Canadian Universities in Toronto, Windsor and London from 1990-2008. From 1994-2000 he served as Executive Director of the Newman Centre Catholic Chaplaincy at the University of Toronto. From 1994 – 2006, Fr. Rosica represented the Canadian Bishops on the Canadian Christian-Jewish Consultation.
In June 1999, he was appointed by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as the Chief Executive Officer and National Director of the World Youth Day and the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II, that took place in Toronto during July, 2002.
On July 1, 2003, Fr. Rosica became the founding Chief Executive Officer of Salt and Light Television, Canada’s first national Catholic Television Network. From 2003 – 2006, he also served as Master of Scholastics of the Basilian Fathers in Toronto. In August 2006, he was elected to the General Council of the Congregation of Priests of St. Basil and served for four years as Second Councilor.
In October 2008, Fr. Rosica was appointed by the Vatican as the English-speaking Media Attaché of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican that focused on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” In February 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Rosica a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Fr. Rosica is also a member of the Episcopal Commission for Communications for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
On December 1, 2011, he became President of Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario, a position that he now holds in addition to his leadership of the Salt and Light Catholic Television Network.
Fr. Rosica is member of the Collegium of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto; the Board of Directors of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas; the Board of Trustees of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee; the Board of Trustees of St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York; the Foundation Board of St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario; the Board of NET Ministries in Canada; and an advisor to the Foundation Campaign Board for Bethlehem University in Palestine. Father Thomas RosicaFr. Rosica is the author of several hundred articles and columns in numerous languages for various publications, including a weekly column for the Toronto Sun for three years and a three-year cycle of biblical reflections for the Zenit International News Service. He is a regular contributor to L’Osservatore Romano newspaper at the Vatican.
At the end of 2011, Fr. Rosica completed the three-year cycle of weekly biblical reflections on the Sunday readings for Zenit. The first volume of the reflections “Word Made Flesh: Biblical Reflections for Year B” was published in English and French in December 2011 by the Publications Service of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Two other volumes, Years A and C will be published in 2012 in English and French.
Fr. Rosica has received significant awards from the Government of Italy for his promotion of Italian culture and heritage; from the State of Israel, for his promotion of interfaith relations and Catholic pilgrimage; and the Jubilee Medal from Queen Elizabeth for his work with young people. In 2003, he received the Papal Award “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” from Pope John Paul II for his leadership of World Youth Day 2002.
Sebastian grew up in Perth, Ontario and moved to Collegeville, Minnesota after high school where he played varsity soccer and earned a BA and MA in Theology and History from St. John’s University.
During the 2010-2011 academic year he taught at both the university and prep school, and also worked in the Residential Life program. Sebastian moved to Toronto in the fall of 2011, and has been working as an associate producer at Salt and Light since January, 2012.
Sebastian’s love for history is evident in his work where he often helps to shape a contemporary Catholic perspective by commenting on current world issues in light of the intellectual and spiritual traditions of the past.
In particular, Sebastian enjoys studying the Second Vatican Council and how its teachings are being used at all levels of the Church to focus the New Evangelization. The writings of G. K. Chesterton, Christopher Dawson, Thomas Aquinas, and the Church Fathers are also a source of strength and inspiration to him.
Sebastian attributes his formation to the Benedictine monks of Collegeville, Minnesota, where he spent all of his young adult years until finding a home at Salt and Light. He continues to play soccer and golf and is an avid sports fan. His favorite professional team is the Toronto Raptors.
