MADISON — Tony Magliano, a writer whose column appears regularly in the Catholic Herald, will speak at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Madison on Thursday Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in the church gathering space.
The title of his talk is “Advancing the Kingdom of God in the 21st Century.” He will speak on the spectrum of life issues, including abortion, poverty/hunger, war, capital punishment, and environmental degradation.
Magliano describes himself as “a cradle Catholic with a growing faith in our Lord Jesus who is the center of my life. I have been married for 32 years and have two sons. I have worked as a stock clerk, bus boy, grass cutter, dish washer, salesman, truck driver, and Baltimore City firefighter.”He said that after a serious discernment process, with the help of a Jesuit priest, “I felt called by the Holy Spirit to work in ministry within the Catholic Church. So, I resigned from the Baltimore City Fire Department to complete a theology degree at Loyola University in Maryland. I like to say that I stopped putting out fires and started lighting them!”
Since then, Magliano has worked for more than 25 years in five (arch)dioceses ministering as a parish director of religious education and in other positions. For the past 15 years, he has been serving as a pastoral associate at the Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church in Baltimore, Md.
Also, for the last 13 years, he has been writing a biweekly syndicated social justice and peace column for the Catholic press. His column is published in various U.S. and Canadian print/online diocesan newspapers, as well as in several national and international publications.