On Mission

The three-hour October 22 meeting offered the archbishop the opportunity to raise concerns with national leaders. The prayer was a chance to ask God’s help. The mixed response that followed has weighed heavily on him. Denver Archbishop James Golka prays over President Trump in the Oval Office, alongside other brother bishops. (Photo courtesy of the White House) Months ago, Denver Archbishop James Golka received a special invitation: to meet alongside other Catholic bishops with Trump...

From access to medical care to the protection of human life and religious convictions, Catholic social teaching calls for health care centered on the dignity of every person. Here's what that means for Catholics in Colorado. Part 5 of a 10-part series on the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez anoints a sick woman during the annual Mass for the World Day of the Sick. (Photo by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic) Health care should be patient-centered,...

Eight hundred years after his death, St. Francis' remarkable peace — captured in the Franciscan Transitus tradition and reflected in a painting by Peter Paul Rubens — invites us to confront our own mortality with courage, faith and hope. St. Francis by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1615. (Photo: Public Domain via Art Institute of Chicago) I have recently learned that on October 3, Franciscans commemorate the Transitus of St. Francis, his passing from earthly life into eternal life, with a vigil...

(Video by Margo Martin, Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor, on X) Denver Archbishop James Golka and other brother bishops from around the United States met with President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday, October 22. During the meeting, the bishops spoke with President Trump about religious freedom, school choice, family tax credits, religious visas and life, according to White House Faith Director Jenny Korn. At the end of the...

From caring for the poor to protecting workers and promoting economic opportunity, Catholic social teaching offers a framework for building a just society. Here's what that means for Catholics in Colorado. Part 4 of a 10-part series on the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities During the February 2026 press conference announcing his appointment as Archbishop of Denver, Archbishop James Golka emphasized the need for Christians to care for those in need. (Photo by Grant Whitty/Denver...

Archbishop James Golka and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez encourage the faithful to join Catholics nationwide in nine days of prayer for candidates, voters and elected officials. Denver Archbishop James Golka prays in Christ the King Chapel at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic) Denver Archbishop James Golka and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez are inviting the faithful to join their brother bishops and them in prayer leading up to the 2026...

What does it take to make someone a Catholic? The waters of Baptism bring new birth, yet when we look around, we find many baptized pagans in the world today. In response, it’s easy to say that it’d be different if only they were better educated. In the late 1960s, catechesis collapsed by focusing more on subjective experiences than on doctrine. With the release of the new Catechism in 1992, a wave of more theologically sound textbooks was produced, yet the crisis of attrition continued...

Final histological examinations and molecular biology tests on tissue removed during the Holy Father's surgery were completed. Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile upon arriving for his weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square. (Photo by Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News) By Antonio Tarallo/EWTN News VATICAN CITY — The Vatican Press Office issued an important statement Wednesday evening on Pope Leo XIVʼs recovery following his Oct. 13 surgery, confirming that no further treatment is necessary....

Religious freedom extends beyond the walls of a church. Here's how Catholic teaching on conscience, human dignity and religious liberty informs the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities. Part 3 of a 10-part series on the Colorado bishops' public policy priorities Denver Archbishop James Golka carries a monstrance with the Eucharist in the 2026 Corpus Christi procession through downtown Denver. (Photo by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic) Religious liberty is rooted in the dignity of...

Father Jaime Valdez, pastor of St. Therese Parish in Aurora, celebrates Mass for the community now celebrating 100 years of faith and service. (Photo courtesy of St. Therese Parish, Aurora) Aurora’s first Catholic church was founded in 1926 by Father Henry Geisert, who had moved from St. Louis to Colorado for his health. He named the parish after the then newly minted St. Therese of Lisieux to fulfill an oath he had made in return for his restored well-being. Upon her deathbed in 1897, the...

At the annual White Mass in Littleton, Catholic healthcare professionals renewed their commitment to serve others in the spirit of Christ, the Divine Physician. (Photo by Madisen Martinez/Denver Catholic) By Madisen Martinez On Sunday, October 18, Denver Archbishop James Golka celebrated the annual White Mass for the Denver Guild of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) at St. Mary Parish in Littleton, where roughly 40 medical professionals gathered to pray and renew their commitment to...

(Photo: Lightstock, created with AI) During a Gaudium et Spes 22 podcast on the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas this past June, I said to my friend Larry Chapp, perhaps more flippantly than the subject warranted, that the folks leading the AI revolution “don’t know the difference between metaphysics and Metamucil.” That is, they seem oblivious to the truth that there are deep truths inscribed into the human condition: truths that we can know by reason (and, Christians would insist, by...