Fr. John Riccardo is the host of "You Were Born for This with Father John Riccardo", Executive Director of ACTS XXIX, and a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, ordained in 1996. He has served as pastor of St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Troy, MI, and at Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) in Plymouth, MI. As pastor of OLGC, together with his parish team, he was witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to move a parish from maintenance to mission in a way that caught the attention of pastors and parishes across the country. As a result, he has done ongoing work with pastors, diocesan leaders, and parish staffs throughout the country to respond to the urgent call of the past four Popes for a new Pentecost and a new evangelization, and to equip parishes to be better able to respond to the times we live in. Fr. John was a member of the leadership team from its very beginning of what became Synod 16 in the Archdiocese of Detroit, a Synod focused on the New Evangelization. He continues to serve on the New Evangelization Council, whose task it is to assist the Archbishop in stewarding the graces of Synod 16. He also serves in several other advisory roles for the Archdiocese of Detroit. In addition to his work in Detroit, Fr. John has served as a member of the USCCB National Advisory Council and is currently a member of the Alpha USA Pastors Forum. He is the host of Christ is the Answer, a radio show that can be heard on EWTN, and is the creator of hundreds of podcasts and videocasts. He has spoken at diocesan events across the country and is passionate about the power of the Gospel to transform people’s lives. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, The Gregorian University in Rome, and The Pope John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.