A Servant’s Heart: Deacon Mark Leonard Begins New Role Supporting Denver’s Deacons
- Denver Catholic Staff
- Oct 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 29
When Deacon Mark Leonard and his wife, Joanna, packed up their home in New Mexico to move to Denver, they did so for a familiar reason — family. Their daughter, her husband, and their grandchildren had settled here, and the Leonards wanted to be close.
But as God often does, he had more in store.
What began as a move to be near loved ones has unfolded into a new calling: Deacon Leonard has joined the Archdiocese of Denver as its new associate director of deacons, serving alongside Deacon Ernie Martinez, archdiocesan director of deacons. Together, they will accompany and support more than 240 deacons who serve the people of Northern Colorado in parishes, ministries and works of charity.
It’s a role Deacon Leonard never anticipated when he first heard the Lord’s quiet call years ago — but one that feels like a natural extension of the path he’s been walking all along.
From Boston to the Rockies
The Boston native jokes that he lost his accent but not his New England loyalty. Despite years living west of the Mississippi, he remains "a rabid Red Sox fan.”
After college and graduate school, he settled in central New Mexico, where he met Joanna and began raising their family. A lifelong Lutheran, he eventually found himself drawn to the Catholic Church, moved by its beauty and depth. After a few years of discernment and formation, he was ordained to the diaconate in 2011 in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
For more than a decade, Deacon Leonard served in small, rural parishes — the kind of communities where faith and daily life blend seamlessly.
After retiring from his professional career as a research engineer, he embraced ministry full-time. Family ties prompted the move to Denver, but as Providence would have it, Denver would also become the next chapter in his ministry.
He was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Denver a few years ago, officially joining its community of deacons.
Serving Those Who Serve
Now, as associate director of deacons, Deacon Leonard's mission has widened from a single parish to the entire archdiocese. His role is to walk alongside those who, like him, have answered the call to serve.
“Now as associate director of deacons, my focus narrows a bit but at the same time broadens quite a lot,” he said. “Although my ‘community’ now is smaller — 240 deacons — these men of God serve the people of the entire archdiocese in parishes, small and large, and they work in apostolates that span every need of charity imaginable.”
In this new chapter, he and Deacon Martinez are collaborating to strengthen the diaconate through formation, fraternity and pastoral care.
“For now, my goal is to become familiar with the entire diaconate community, the work they do and determine how I can best assist them in their prayer and work," he explained. "I am also helping Deacon Ernie develop several new projects that are underway.”
The Gift of a Deacon’s Life
For Deacon Leonard, the diaconate has always been about presence — being there in the joys and struggles of everyday life, both at home and in the parish. That dual call, he believes, is what makes the ministry of a deacon so powerful.
“One of the unique privileges of the life of a deacon is the ability to serve both in family life and all that it entails, and as an ordained partner to the ministerial priesthood of the Church,” he said. “This unusual blend of vocations allows us to be witnesses to every husband and family father struggling along their own path to holiness. Our own struggles to faithfully follow Jesus at home and in our diaconal ministry can be an encouraging example to others.”
It’s a ministry rooted in humble service — one that reflects the heart of Christ the Servant. And as Deacon Leonard begins his new role, he asks for something simple yet profound from the faithful: prayer.
“Pray for the deacon at your parish and all those who serve the Church in other ways,” he urged. “Numerous times, Jesus implores us to be persistent in prayer. Be persistent in praying for our deacon community.”
