Archbishop Aquila: On Mission Over the Years
- Aaron Lambert
- 2 minutes ago
- 20 min read
A timeline of episcopal service in Northern Colorado
2015-2016: Restored Order of the Sacraments of Initiation and Sealed & Sent
"The world needs saints. Even as our society becomes more distant from faith and more forgetful of God, it still hungers for joyful witnesses who have been transformed by Christ. At the same time, new generations of Catholics need grace to sustain them in a non-Christian environment. To answer these needs, I have decided to restore the Sacraments of Initiation to their original order, that is, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. This will make available every sacramental grace the Church has to offer to children who have reached the age of reason.” Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, Saints Among Us
One of Archbishop Aquila’s first major acts as Archbishop of Denver effectively highlighted his pastoral priorities — namely, the centrality of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, to the Catholic faith. In 2015, he published a pastoral letter entitled Saints Among Us, which restored the Sacraments of Initiation to their original order of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
He was inspired by the 2007 apostolic exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum caritatis, and followed in his own footsteps, as it were, for he had previously implemented the restored order as bishop of Fargo, N.D., to much success. He shared in Saints Among Us: “As Bishop of Fargo, I was able to personally meet with Pope Benedict during my March 2012 ad limina visit. I shared with him the process we used to restore Confirmation to its original place in the diocese, and he listened attentively. Then he replied, ‘You have done what I have always wanted to do.’”
To successfully implement the restored order, the Archdiocese hosted Sealed & Sent, an archdiocesan-wide celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, at the Denver Coliseum in May 2015. At this Mass, over 500 youth were confirmed and received first Eucharist.
2016: Julia Greeley's Cause for Canonization Opened
"It is a historic moment for the Archdiocese of Denver as we move forward the first of the sessions toward the canonization of the Servant of God Julia Greeley. It is truly wondrous when one looks at this simple, humble woman — a laywoman who is known because of her deep faith in Christ.” Archbishop Aquila during a homily given on Dec. 18, 2016, for the opening Mass of Julia Greeley's cause for canonization
Archbishop Aquila had the distinct honor of being the first Colorado bishop to officially propose a person for sainthood: the simple and humble Julia Greeley. He opened her cause for canonization at the end of 2016, which is still in process today. She has been declared a Servant of God, and her intercession is being sought. Should Denver’s own “Angel of Charity” be counted among the communion of saints one day, it will be in large part due to Archbishop Aquila’s recognition of this remarkable woman.
2017: Consecration of the Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima
"Our Lady said, ‘In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.’ And in that, we see the heart of Mary and her love for Jesus. Her last recorded words were, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’She constantly reminds us of her son, and her deepest desire is that we be as pure in heart as she is pure of heart.” Archbishop Aquila during a homily given on Oct. 13, 2017
On Oct. 13, the centennial of Our Lady’s final apparition to the Fatima children and the Miracle of the Sun, hundreds gathered in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, and thousands more gathered in parishes across Northern Colorado as Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila consecrated the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Archbishop Aquila reminded the faithful that Our Lord “promises to give us a new heart,” and that Mary wants us to open our hearts to salvation and to Jesus.
“It is precisely in the heart of Jesus and in the heart of Mary that we come to discover God’s eternal love and the transformation and purification of our own hearts,” he said. “As we consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, let us pray for faith … to love Jesus as Mary loved Jesus, and pray for peace. Let us pray for hope, rooted in the promise of eternal life. It is only by keeping our hearts fixed on Jesus that this will come about.”
Five Popes and One Saint in His Episcopal Lineage:
Pope Benedict XIII (1675)
Pope Benedict XIV (1724)
Pope Clement XIII (1743)
Pope St. Pius X (1884)
Pope Benedict XV (1907)
2018: Past 25 Years Remembered, Next 25 Anticipated At More Than You Realize Conference
On the 25th anniversary of World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, over 5,000 faithful from across the Archdiocese of Denver filled the seats of the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland at what was the largest Catholic gathering in Colorado since that historic event.
“Be not afraid!” was the rallying cry for the More Than You Realize conference, echoing the very same call Pope St. John Paul II gave 25 years prior. It marked a celebration of the past 25 years, and a hopeful look ahead to the next 25.
In his homily during Mass, Archbishop Aquila touched on what World Youth Day 1993 still meant for the Colorado faithful after all these years, and how it served as a launching point for a mission that the Church in Northern Colorado is still carrying out today.
“The world likes to tell us many things about ourselves,” he said, “and not many of them today are good or uplifting. Just look at the distorted image of beauty that is prevalent today, let alone the distortions of what it means to be a human person. ... The devil is certainly having a field day in a world that has abandoned God, and even in some members of the Church who have a weak faith in Jesus.”
Despite similar issues in 1993, Archbishop Aquila reminded the congregation that the pope brought a message of hope to Denver.
“When St. John Paul II spoke to the youth gathered for the prayer vigil on Saturday night at Cherry Creek State Park, he reminded them that God had a much bigger role for them to play in history. We have an opportunity to make a major impact for Jesus Christ, even as the surrounding culture is becoming less Christian.”
The pope opened the doors for those who attended to become greater disciples of Christ — not just directly after World Youth Day, but forever.
“St. John Paul II believed in retrospect that a revolution had taken place in Denver,” said the archbishop. “We, today, are the inheritors of this spiritual revolution, and we must not be afraid to put out into the deep to let our nets down for a catch.”
He further implored, “Jesus is much more than you realize. The Church is more than you realize. And your role in the plan of God is much more than you realize or [can] even imagine. I beg you, as your shepherd today, to open your hearts to Jesus and speak heart-to- heart with him who loves you most.”
2018: Catholic Education Made More Affordable with the Variable Tuition Program
"The work of forming the next generation is vital for the success of our Church and our country. As parents and family members consider your educational plans for your children, I invite you to approach your local Catholic school to discover what new opportunities might be available for you.” Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
In 2018, Archbishop Aquila unveiled a new program to make Catholic schools more affordable for all families.
From the beginning of his episcopacy in 2012, he had a goal to “reinvigorate our Catholic school system and to make a Catholic education more accessible to people throughout Northern Colorado.” By working with the Archdiocesan Finance Office, the Office of Catholic Schools and Seeds of Hope, this goal became a reality with the Variable Tuition Program.
Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, Seeds of Hope’s mission was expanded to include all archdiocesan schools, including the nine inner-city schools it was originally founded to support. As a result, more families have been given the opportunity to give their children a Catholic education here in Colorado.
Pastoral Letters and Notes:
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2014:
2015:
2018:
2021:
2022:
2023:
2024:
2025:
2026:
2018-2019: Annunciation Heights & Prophet Elijah House Opened
Archbishop Aquila has often spoken of the Church’s great duty to support families and priests. To this end, he oversaw the opening of two archdiocesan entities whose missions are to do just that.
Opened in 2018, Annunciation Heights is a Catholic youth and family camp located just south of Estes Park in the Archdiocese of Denver. The four-lodge, 188-bed camp is home to summer youth and family camps, spring and fall outdoor lab programs and year-round youth, college and parish ministry retreats. Since its opening, Annunciation Heights has provided a place for families to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, gather in a beautiful setting only Colorado can offer, and ultimately grow closer to Christ.
On the other hand, the Prophet Elijah House, opened in 2019, is a home for retired priests that serves and cares for those men who have given their lives to the Church. It is located on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center — the same area where many of the archdiocese’s priests attended the then-St. Thomas Seminary.
The house, which offers its residents a comfortable place to enjoy their twilight years and a community of other retired priests to be a part of, “is a great blessing and something that the archdiocese has talked about for over 40 years,” Archbishop Aquila remarked during the grand opening. “It’s already served as a blessing for those who are living here now. It’s been a tremendous service to our priests in helping them and letting them know that we are with them.”
2018-2020: Independent Review and Reconciliation Program
Following the commissioning of the faithful at More Than You Realize, a crisis shook the U.S. Church. The fallout from the McCarrick scandal prompted dioceses nationwide, including all three dioceses in Colorado, to launch an Independent Review and Reconciliation (IRR) program for historic sexual abuse. Called a “remarkable effort” by a former U.S. senator, this effort provided survivors with the chance for justice and healing, while helping ensure trust and transparency in the Church’s leadership.
“We hope that this independent program creates a simple and non-adversarial means for survivors to have their stories heard and be provided with resources to aid in their continued healing,” said Archbishop Aquila. “No matter how long ago the abuse occurred, we hope anyone who is still suffering in silence will be encouraged to come forward. If any survivor also wishes to meet personally with me, my door will be open.”
The reparations process was completed in 2020 and accomplished the goals the archbishop set out to achieve, which were to: offer a transparent accounting of the history of sexual abuse of minors by priests in our parishes, including a review of how the Archdiocese responded; provide a safe and simple means for survivors to come forward and receive support in their healing; and obtain a thorough review and critique of our current prevention and response policies to make sure they are of the highest standards.
“The conclusion of this process does not mean our work is done,” Archbishop Aquila said. “As Catholics, we must re-affirm our commitment to never becoming complacent, and as a Church, that we will continue to pray for all survivors and their families.”
2020: The Year of COVID
"Lent is a time during which Catholics return to the basic practices of the faith — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — to promote deeper conversion in our hearts. This Lent, the world is being presented with the threat of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which should cause us to reflect on our own mortality and seek conversion.” Archbishop Aquila in a March 13, 2020, Denver Catholic column
Nobody could have predicted that a global pandemic would shut the world down for the first half of 2020, including the suspension of public Masses during Lent. But instead of lamenting about the state of the world, Archbishop Aquila took the lead in remaining faithful and staying connected to the vine that is Jesus Christ. He encouraged the faithful to be hopeful and charitable, and indeed, the archdiocese’s good work continued. More importantly, though, he urged the faithful to recognize their own mortality and seek out true conversion through the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
For the archbishop himself, 2020 would prove to be a fruitful year, though he perhaps didn’t know it at the time. With an open heart — and a suddenly open schedule — Archbishop Aquila spent intentional time in deep prayer, asking the Lord to reveal his plans for the Archdiocese of Denver during his remaining years as bishop. And as the years ahead would show, he had big, big plans — and, in the archbishop, a faithful servant to carry them out.
2021-2023: A Synodal Journey
"Our synodal process was not an exercise in novelty for its own sake, nor a platform for human agendas. Rather, it was a humble pilgrimage of hearts returning to the ancient and unchanging truth of the Gospel, seeking new ways, in our apostolic age, to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ to a world in need of healing, unity and hope.” Archbishop Aquila, Ever Ancient, Ever New: The Synodal Journey of the Archdiocese of Denver
In 2021, the Archdiocese of Denver embarked on a synodal journey with the universal Church to pray together and listen intently to how the Holy Spirit is calling the Church to be the salt and light of the world that she is called to be in this new apostolic age. Providentially, this synodal journey aligned perfectly with the fruits of Archbishop Aquila’s prayer from the year before: namely, that the mission of the Church to lead our post-Christian culture into an encounter with Christ is precipitated by each member’s own personal encounter with Christ and conversion of heart.
Under Archbishop Aquila’s direction, leadership and spiritual guidance, the entire people of the Archdiocese of Denver actively participated in the Synod. The two primary goals that guided the synodal process were to re-acquire a biblical worldview and to listen to God. Various initiatives, including a communal retreat and a preaching series based around the kerygma, served to help the faithful bear these goals in mind as the synodal journey began.
Each parish held listening sessions in which parishioners were encouraged to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, share responses to a set of questions provided by the Archdiocese and discuss the challenges facing the Church today. The results of these listening sessions were compiled and shared with the Archdiocese. They were then taken to prayer and used to further discern how the Holy Spirit was calling the faithful to embark on mission together.
Representatives were appointed from each parish and various apostolates and ministries in the archdiocese to attend the Archdiocesan Discernment Event in March 2022. This gathering brought together 349 faithful from across the Archdiocese of Denver — pastors, parish representatives, leaders of apostolates and movements, religious and lay faithful — forming a mosaic that reflected the rich diversity of the local Church. This was no ordinary conference or meeting. From beginning to end, it was a sacred assembly: a time set apart for prayer, listening and discerning together as one body what the Holy Spirit was saying to the Church of Northern Colorado.
From this collective discernment, the Holy Spirit spoke clearly. Many fruits were borne from the synodal journey — healing, unity, conversion and most of all, a renewed focus on mission. It became evident that an apostolic mindset is needed among the faithful if the Church’s mission is to be successful. However, as Archbishop Aquila noted, “This synodal journey is only the beginning. The work of healing, unity and mission continues. We are committed to ongoing discernment, formation and action, always seeking to be faithful to what the Spirit is saying to the Church of Northern Colorado.
“The words of St. Augustine continue to guide us: ‘Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new.’ May we, the Church of Denver, love him anew each day, and proclaim his beauty with boldness in this time. Let us walk together, with hearts renewed, as his witnesses in this apostolic age.”
Consecrated as Bishop:
Bishop Stephen Berg (Pueblo) in 2014
Bishop Steven Biegler (Cheyenne) in 2017
Archbishop-designate James Golka (Denver) in 2021
Co-Consecrated as Bishop:
Bishop John Folda (Fargo, ND) in 2013
Bishop Robert Gruss (Saginaw, MI) in 2019
2022-2025: A Time for Revival
"In the Eucharist, he has left us the greatest gift he could: his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Every time you and I receive the Eucharist, what we see is bread and wine. It is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is the second person of the Trinity, risen and ascended to the Father, seated at the right hand of the Father, who we receive. Why? Because he has said so, and we take Jesus at his word. He is faithful, and it is truly his gift for us as we journey on this earth.” Archbishop Aquila during a homily given on June 9, 2024
Coming amid the Synod, the National Eucharistic Revival was yet another providential opportunity seized by Archbishop Aquila to invite the faithful to renew their love for and devotion to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. A hallmark of the archbishop’s episcopacy has been his emphasis on the centrality of the sacraments, specifically the Eucharist, to the life of the Church. With the National Eucharistic Revival, he further led his flock into deeper Eucharistic love with various initiatives and events during the three years of the revival.
It all reached a powerful culmination when the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage’s St. Junípero Serra Route crossed Colorado, drawing thousands. Stops included Rangely, Steamboat Springs, Camp St. Malo’s Chapel on the Rock, Boulder’s St. Thomas Aquinas and numerous Denver area parishes and institutions before heading to the Eastern Plains. On June 9, 2024, Archbishop Aquila led the largest Eucharistic procession in Denver’s history, with nearly 5,000 people walking down central corridors in the city in public witness to the Real Presence of Christ.
“My sincere hope is that this National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, which has passed through the heart of our capitol city, will renew our zeal and devotion to Jesus, present in the Eucharist,” Archbishop Aquila said. “It is a profound joy to see so many of the faithful throughout the Archdiocese of Denver gathered in prayer and witness to Jesus. Through our joyfully countercultural witness to our abiding relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I pray that many come to know Jesus Christ, so that all might be rescued and have abundant life, for the glory of the Father.”
2025: Standing with Mary at the Foot of the Cross
"In 2024, my team and I recognized that we were approaching the 2,000th anniversary of the Paschal Mystery in 2033. Pope Francis announced that the Church will celebrate an Extraordinary Jubilee for this incredible occasion. In preparation for the great Jubilee of 2033, I am announcing a nine-year novena. To lead and accompany us toward the 2033 Jubilee, I have chosen to direct the novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title ‘Mary at the Foot of the Cross.’ As Mary was present with Jesus throughout his passion, she will guide us in meditating upon these mysteries and participating in Jesus’ salvific mission on the cross.” Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, Standing with Mary at the Foot of the Cross
As Archbishop Aquila approached his 75th birthday — the traditional age of retirement for bishops — he was still looking to the future of the Church in Northern Colorado and beyond. Recognizing that in nine years the world would be celebrating the 2,000th anniversary of the Paschal Mystery, the greatest event in human history — when Jesus Christ died on the Cross and resurrected three days later, conquering death and sin once and for all — launched the public period of a nine-year novena on Ash Wednesday 2025. He commissioned a beautiful icon by local iconographer Elizabeth Zelasko depicting Mary at the foot of the Cross. He also issued a pastoral note reflecting on Jesus’ Seven Last Words from the Cross and how Mary’s example can lead us deeper into the Paschal Mystery.
“Mary stood at the foot of the Cross as Jesus suffered, taking upon himself the sin of the world, and anticipated the moment when he would ultimately put sin to death when he breathed his last,” Archbishop Aquila wrote. “Mary is a model of hope, perseverance and contemplation as we seek to understand and be transformed by the saving actions of Jesus.
“As we move towards the 2,000-year anniversary, let us keep these mysteries before us and keep our eyes fixed on the grace available through Mary at the foot of the Cross,” he continued.
A Bold Champion for Pro-Life Issues
Throughout his time in Denver, Archbishop Aquila has stood boldly for the dignity of life, from conception to natural death. Colorado has long been a battleground state for the pro-life cause, and as its political leanings have become more progressive and liberal over the last decade, so has its blatant disregard for the sanctity of life.
Despite the constant uphill battle, Archbishop Aquila has remained firm in his resolve to uphold the dignity of life through various pastoral initiatives and by imploring state legislators to defend life in all its stages. He is considered a national leader in the pro-life movement, and under his episcopate, the Archdiocese of Denver has made important strides in defending the sanctity of life. Some of these include the opening of two pro-life healthcare practices for women, Bella Health + Wellness and Marisol Health, which have continued to expand services and provide comprehensive care since they opened a decade ago.
Archbishop Aquila has mobilized the archdiocese to witness to the faith in the public arena through the Colorado Catholic Conference, advocating for the abolition of the death penalty and fighting against harmful measures such as physician-assisted suicide and the various pro-abortion laws that have been passed. On the spiritual front, the archbishop has led several Eucharistic Processions around Planned Parenthood facilities over the years and has offered countless prayers for an end to the scourge of abortion in Colorado. And while the political needle in Colorado has sadly only moved further to the left, there have still been numerous pro-life victories to celebrate during Archbishop Aquila’s time here. 2022 saw the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and in 2025, the late-term abortion clinic in Boulder and the Aurora Planned Parenthood clinic shuttered their doors. Though the fight continues, Archbishop Aquila has exemplified with his steadfast witness that prayer is the most powerful course of action in defense of the sanctity of life.
2014: Bella Health + Wellness Founded
2016: Marisol Health Founded
2016: Physician-Assisted Suicide legalized in Colorado
2020: Death Penalty repealed
2022: Roe v. Wade overturned
2024: Amendment 79 to "enshrine" abortion in the state constitution
2025: Boulder abortion clinic closed
2025: Aurora Planned Parenthood closed
Parish and School Openings: Growth in Faith
Bucking the national trend of parish and school closures nationwide is no easy task, but under Archbishop Aquila’s episcopate, the Archdiocese of Denver saw the opening of two new parishes and six Catholic schools.
“It’s not that often that bishops are able to announce the kind of good news I am about to share with you,” the archbishop wrote in November 2017, announcing the establishment of St. John Paul II Parish in Thornton and St. Gianna Molla Parish in Green Valley Ranch. “I have been praying for quite some time about what these two new locations should be named. As I brought this decision before the Lord, the importance of renewing family life and evangelization kept echoing in my heart, and so I have chosen two recent saints who exemplify those missions.”
Both parishes have grown significantly and have broken ground on permanent locations for their churches.
That same year, the Archdiocese also opened Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton, a regional Catholic school that adheres to the classical education model. The school has experienced tremendous growth and continues to attract families seeking an authentic Catholic education. In 2020, another regional school, Bl. Miguel Pro Academy, was opened in Westminster.
Furthermore, after hearing for years that families were seeking more Catholic high school options around the archdiocese, Archbishop Aquila helped to facilitate the opening of four new Catholic high schools, including one in Windsor, which had been discussed for years and finally became a reality.
With the opening of these new parishes and schools, the archdiocese’s faithful can be proud of the growth that has happened under Archbishop Aquila.
Parishes:
Schools:
School Closings: The Changing Landscape
Colorado has changed during Archbishop Aquila's tenure, with population growth and significant demographic shifts. It has has also, unfortunately, become expensive to live in. Due to these factors and others, one difficult part of the archbishop's time here was the closing of several Catholic schools.
The Catholic community was especially sad to see Bishop Machebeuf High School close its doors permanently after serving students for 66 years. After several attempts at revitalization, Archbishop Aquila discerned in the fall of 2024 that BMHS and two other schools would need to close to secure the long-term financial and educational viability of Catholic education across Colorado.
Though these are not easy decisions to make, the legacy of BMHS and the other schools will live on. As Archbishop Aquila wrote in a letter to the school’s administrators, “Because of your generous fidelity to the Lord Jesus, countless students have encountered him, grown in intellect and faith and learned to serve him and others. These families and our archdiocesan community are immeasurably better off for your efforts to bring about God’s kingdom here on earth.”
2016: St. Louis (Englewood)
2021: St. Francis de Sales (Denver)
2024: St. Pius X (Aurora)
2025: Wellspring Catholic Academy of St. Bernadette (Lakewood)
2025: Guardian Angels (Denver)
2026: St. Louis (Louisville)
Finding God's Peace, Even in Difficulty
Archbishop Aquila has been present to the people of Colorado amidst terrible tragedies over the years, offering spiritual comfort and the shining light of Christ in dark times.
On his second day as Archbishop of Denver, 12 people were killed in a shooting at a movie theater in Aurora. In a homily during an evening Mass on the day of the shooting, Archbishop Aquila asked the faithful to bring their sorrow to the Lord and open their hearts so that he may give comfort.
“As we present it to our Lord, though it may not be removed immediately, we know that the Lord is with us in the midst of the suffering,” he said. “Certainly, the love of the Father is stronger than the bullets that killed 12 people and wounded [dozens more]. And the risen Christ points to that truth.”
This message of hope in the risen Christ would become a common refrain for the archbishop over the years as more tragedies struck: the terrible floods in Colorado in 2013 which killed eight people and caused extensive damage to Camp St. Malo; the 2019 shooting of Kendrick Castillo at the Highlands Ranch STEM School; the Marshall Fire in 2021, the most destructive fire in Colorado history which destroyed nearly 1,000 structures; a 2021 mass shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder which claimed the lives of 10 people; the Club Q shooting in 2022 which killed five; the 2025 fire attack in Boulder that killed one; and the shooting at Evergreen High School in 2025. Suffering and tragedies like these never make sense, but amid them, Archbishop Aquila always pointed to the enduring hope of Christ and how his love is stronger than death.
2012: Aurora Theater Shooting
2021: Marshall Fire
2022: Club Q Shooting
2025: Boulder Fire Attack
Overall Timeline
July 18, 2012: Archbishop Aquila installed as fifth archbishop of Denver
July 20, 2012: Aurora Theater Shooting
September 2013: Colorado Floods
December 2014: Bella Health + Wellness founded
May 2015: Saints Among Us (Restored Order)
May 2016: Sealed and Sent Confirmation Mass
June 2016: Julia Greeley's Cause for Canonization opened
August 2016: Marisol Health founded
August 2017: Frassati Catholic Academy opened
October 2017: Consecration of the Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima
November 2017: St. John Paul II Parish and St. Gianna Beretta Molla Parish established
February 2018: Catholic education made more affordable with Variable Tuition program
Summer 2018: Annunciation Heights opened
August 2018: More Than You Realize conference
April 2019: Prophet Elijah House opened
May 2019: Highlands Ranch STEM School Shooting
August 2019: Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Victory opens
September 2019: Independent Review and Reconciliation Program (IRR) launched
March 2020: COVID
August 2020: Bl. Miguel Pro Academy opens
August 2020: St. John Paul II High School in Windsor opens
November 2020: IRR concluded
March 2021: Boulder King Soopers Shooting
October 2021: Synod on Synodality opened
December 2021: Marshall Fire
March 2022: Archdiocesan Discernment Event
June 2022: Roe v. Wade overturned
June 2022: Eucharistic Revival Launched
August 2022: John Paul the Great High School opens
November 2022: Club Q Shooting
June 2024: National Eucharistic Pilgrimage comes through Colorado
August 2024: Chesterton Academy of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom opens
Ash Wednesday 2025: Archbishop launches nine-year novena; unveils Mary at the Foot of the Cross icon
September 24, 2025: Archbishop submits his request to retire
February 7, 2026: Archbishop's retirement accepted
