On Mission

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 Saturday morning.  Mere hours before, the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila’s...

(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,...

(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...

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...

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...

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...

37 deacons and 4 priests came together to launch what organizers say might be the first diocesan-sponsored clergy peer support program in the nation. (Photo provided) When Deacon Ernie Martinez took on his role as director of deacons for the Archdiocese of Denver three years ago, he brought with him an insight few clergy possess: 40 years of experience with the Denver Police Department, where he witnessed firsthand how peer support could save lives. That experience has now translated into...

(Photo provided) There are few words that a person will say in their lifetime that carry as much eternal weight as the two simple words couples say at the altar on their wedding day: "I do." In uttering these two words, a man and his wife are doing much more than merely promising to lay down their lives for one another — though, to be sure, they are doing that too. "I do" is a mutual assent that a man and his wife will give themselves completely and totally to one another in a sacred covenant...

For Paul Glaser, what began as a simple construction job in the foothills of Colorado has become a mission of faith, service and community.  (Photo provided) Born and raised in Nebraska, Glaser came to Colorado at 21, following college friends — one of whom would later become his brother-in-law. He started working in construction and made St. John the Evangelist Parish in Loveland his home parish. There he met Father Roger Mollison, a priest who would unknowingly shape the course of his life...

Together, as one Body in Christ, the Church is called to an active love, which flows from encounter and compassion, just as it did for the Good Samaritan. Locally, that compassionate care will take shape at the annual World Day for the Sick Mass on February 15. Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez anoints a Massgoer during the annual World Day for the Sick Mass at Holy Ghost Parish in Denver. (Photo by Daniel Petty/Denver Catholic) It’s an uncharacteristically warm winter day, and you find...

Timothy Cardinal Dolan processes into Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan in 2021. (Photo courtesy of Cardinal Dolan's Facebook page) There’s a steak house on East 50 th  Street in midtown Manhattan, to which Cardinal Timothy Dolan and I would sometimes walk for dinner after a pre-prandial or two in his sitting room. The restaurant was less than a block away from the residence of the archbishops of New York, and the walk would ordinarily take two or three minutes. With Cardinal...

Speaking on his recently published Pastoral Call to Peace , the Denver archbishop urged the faithful and all those of goodwill to return to civil discourse, rooted in a biblical worldview and in the human dignity inherent in every person. (Photo: Denver Catholic file photo) As tensions run high nationwide in response to immigration enforcement and recent violence, Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila joined the Dan Caplis Show to urge a return to the peace that only Christ can give.  Speaking...