Local

Pope Leo Meets With 1,000 Itinerant Catechists from the Neocatechumenal Way

(Photo: © Vatican Media) Last month, Pope Leo XIV received more than 1,000 itinerant catechists in an audience in the Hall of Blessings, responsible for the Neocatechumenal Way in 138 nations on five continents. The papal audience came at the end of a gathering held at the “Servant of Yahweh” Center in Porto San Giorgio under the guidance of the team responsible for the Neocatechumenal Way worldwide, and included Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neocatecumenal Way, as well as Father Mario Pezzi...

Mullen High School Alumnus Carries Olympic Torch in Italy

(Photo courtesy of Mullen High School, Denver) For Catholic school communities across Northern Colorado, moments of quiet formation often bear fruit far beyond anyone's imagination. This winter, one of those moments unfolded thousands of miles from home — on the cobblestone streets of Bergamo, Italy — as Dale O’Blia, a 2024 graduate of Mullen High School in Denver, carried the Olympic torch. Selected as one of a highly limited number of torchbearers, O'Blia took part in the 63-day Olympic...

Ash Wednesday Collection Invites Catholics to Share in Healing and Hope Across Central and Eastern Europe

(Photo: Pannonhalma Archabbey, courtesy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) As Catholics begin the penitential journey of Lent, the Church once again invites the faithful to unite prayer, sacrifice and generosity in a special way. On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, parishes across the United States will take up the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, an annual appeal sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that has brought healing and renewal for...

Ashes, Almsgiving and the Call to Serve: Love in Action This Lent

Let Lent lead us into love through Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities offers several opportunities to get involved and give back this Lent, from Fort Collins to the Denver Metro, from the Western Slope to your own neighborhood. (Photo provided) Lent arrives every year like an invitation, quiet but impossible to ignore. The ashes on our foreheads remind us that life is brief, and love is meant to be shared widely. You may be thinking about what to give up, but Lent also asks a different...

WATCH: Missed the Press Conference Announcing Our Next Archbishop?

On Saturday, February 7, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila's request to retire and had appointed Most Reverend James R. Golka , currently Bishop of Colorado Springs, as the sixth Archbishop of Denver. That same morning, the Archdiocese of Denver hosted a press conference to introduce Northern Colorado's newest shepherd at the Cardinal Stafford Library at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. In the conference, Archbishop-designate...

St. Raphael Counseling Launches New Six-Week Marriage Preparation Program   

(Photo: Lightstock) St. Raphael Counseling, a ministry of Catholic Charities, is excited to introduce a new six-week Marriage Preparation Program, designed to help engaged couples build a strong faith-filled foundation for lifelong partnership. Endorsed by the Archdiocese of Denver, this program reflects St. Raphael Counseling’s commitment to supporting healthy marriages by combining sound psychological science with Catholic teaching.  St. Raphael Counseling provides compassionate,...

Archbishop-designate Golka Looks Ahead to 'What God Has in Store for Us Together'

On Saturday, February 7, Pope Leo XIV accepted Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila's request to retire and appointed Bishop James R. Golka, currently Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, as the Archdiocese of Denver's sixth archbishop. (Photo by Daniel Petty/Denver Catholic) “If we don’t pray first, we’re going to be lost. So let’s pray,” Denver’s next archbishop began on the morning of Feb. 7.  Mere hours before, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Archbishop Samuel J....

Pope Leo XIV Names Bishop James R. Golka Sixth Archbishop of Denver

(Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Colorado Springs) DENVER — Pope Leo XIV has named Bishop James R. Golka as the sixth Archbishop of Denver, the Holy See announced early February 7, 2026.  Archbishop-designate Golka, 59, is the current Bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He will succeed Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, 75, who has been chief shepherd of the Archdiocese of Denver since 2012.  Archbishop Aquila’s retirement — which he offered to the pope upon his 75th birthday, Sept. 24,...

A Farewell Thank You from Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila

(Denver Catholic file photo) February 7, 2026  My Brothers and Sisters,  As I prepare to enter retirement, my heart is filled above all with gratitude — to God, to the priests and deacons of this local Church, to consecrated women and men, and to the lay faithful who have walked together as missionary disciples in Northern Colorado. From the beginning of my ministry here, I have been convinced that the Lord is at work among us, calling us ever more deeply to conversion, communion and...

Get to Know Archbishop-designate James R. Golka

Then-Bishop James R. Golka preaches during Mass at SEEK26 in Denver. (Photo by Grant Whitty/Courtesy of FOCUS) Archbishop-designate James R. Golka was born September 22, 1966, in Grand Island, Nebraska, the fourth of 10 children born to Robert and the late Patricia Golka. He graduated from Grand Island Central Catholic High School and attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1985-89, where he earned degrees in philosophy and theology.  He served as a Jesuit lay missionary...

A new Denver archbishop has been named. What happens now?

Then-Bishop James R. Golka blesses attendees at Mass at SEEK26 in Denver. (Photo by Madisen Martinez/Courtesy of FOCUS) Habemus archiepiscopum! We have an archbishop!  On Saturday morning, the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila’s request to retire from pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Denver after nearly 14 years of service. At the same time, the Holy Father appointed Most Reverend...

‘The Harvest Is Abundant’: How One Parish Took 74 to SEEK

When St. Joan of Arc Parish in Arvada, Colorado, brought more than 70 parishioners to the SEEK conference  in Denver this January, it wasn’t a last-minute decision — it was the fruit of years of discernment, prayer and a renewed understanding of what it means to be a parish on mission in the Archdiocese of Denver. The 74 Fervent Evangelical Warriors from St. Joan of Arc Parish in Arvada (plus a few extra!) gathered for a group photo during SEEK26 in Denver. (Photo courtesy of St. Joan of Arc...