Mark Bradford was appointed the Word on Fire Institute’s Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the beginning of 2023. For over 20 years, he has been blessed to serve in leadership positions in various church ministries, including as the executive vice president of The National Catholic Bioethics Center, and the founding president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation in the U.S. Mark and his wife Denise are parents to Thomas, their 6th of 7 children (and first son), who happens to have been gifted with an extra 21st chromosome. Mark is a passionate advocate for those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities, for their families and for their full inclusion the Church and its ministries wherever possible. He is the author/editor of two books that will be published by Word on Fire in 2025, Let Us Pray, A Catholic Prayerbook for All Abilities, and Indispensable: A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Disabilities. He writes regularly for Word on Fire’s Evangelization and Culture Online, and his work can also be seen at Aleteia and The American Conservative.
Mark is convinced that the solution to exclusion of persons with disabilities in society and the Church is through inclusion—and the younger, the better. In his role as the Word on Fire Institute’s Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Mark has been charged with defending the lives of babies prenatally diagnosed with genetic disabilities, and broadly supporting the needs of persons with developmental disabilities in the Church. A top priority has been to host various virtual events on the Word on Fire platform to inform Word on Fire Institute members about the possibilities of funding and providing inclusive education in Catholic schools. He has also convened a group of seasoned consultants and professional working in Catholic “special education” at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and also those involved in private foundations, like FIRE, who are working together on various initiatives to encourage and broaden the opportunities for inclusion in Catholic schools.