On Mission

Alex Kwan, program manager for the Office of Minor and At-Risk Adult Prevention, leads a Safe Environments training for volunteers throughout the archdiocese. (Photo provided) By Caitlin Burm From parish facilities  to Catholic school classrooms , safety is built into every layer of ministry at the Archdiocese of Denver. While Deacon Mike Daly  is hard at work fostering a culture   of security across the archdiocese, even partnering  with the FBI Denver Field Office, work continues to ensure...

Catholic teaching reminds us that human dignity endures until our final breath, and that preparing for death — either ours or that of a parent or loved one — is an act of both gratitude and love. Extremae Unctionis Sacramentum by Pietro Longhi, c. 1757. (Photo: Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons) By Father Scott Bailey   I recently anointed a man who was dying by himself in a nursing home. He was unresponsive, but I think he knew that I was there. His wife of 50+ years is homebound and could not...

From their convent at the St. John Paul II Center, the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity live a hidden life of prayer and service — reminding the Archdiocese of Denver that God’s love is always present. The community of the Allied Carmelites of Denver with Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila. (Photo provided) Founded in 1986 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, the community of the Discalced Carmelites of the Most Holy Trinity arrived in Colorado in 2017 with the mission of establishing a...

Amid relics, rose gardens and sub sandwiches, Denver’s retired archbishop reminded children — and adults — of the simple beauty of faith and perseverance. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School students were blessed with an unexpected visit with Cardinal Stafford. (Photo provided) By Jay Sorgi It was the Eucharist, sub sandwiches, a showing off of the seminary and a Spirit-filled conversation with a cardinal that got on the same level as a bunch of cookie-filled Catholic school kids. More than...

(Photo provided) For Kary Lara, ministry is more than a role; it is a calling that has shaped every part of her life. As director of religious education (DRE) for St. Vincent and St. Mary of the Crown Parishes in Basalt and Carbondale, she serves both English- and Spanish-speaking communities nestled in Colorado’s mountain region, helping families encounter Christ through faith formation, sacraments and service.    Since the parishes are small and close-knit, Lara wears many hats. She...

Beginning this weekend, seminarians will visit parishes throughout the archdiocese to share their vocation stories and ask for your support.   Tommy Myers and Deacon Daniel Rivas, both seminarians for the Archdiocese of Denver, are in formation for the priesthood at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. (Photo by Grant Whitty) Each year, the Archdiocese of Denver invites the faithful to support the formation of future priests through the Annual Seminaries’ Appeal. This year’s...

(Photo provided) For nearly 30 years, Catholic Charities’ Adopt-A-Family program has matched compassionate donors like you with families, seniors and individuals who need a little extra help during the holidays. In partnership with you, we provide Christmas gifts and hope to those served through our ministries — families nominated by our Catholic Charities team who are working hard to build brighter futures. Yesenia, a mother of two and participant in Marisol Family, knows just how much this...

Through endowments, wills, trusts and Donor-Advised Funds, Catholics across Northern Colorado are building a legacy that strengthens the Church’s mission — from parishes and schools to seminaries and ministries. (Photo: Andrew Wright/Denver Catholic) By Beth Chatterton In 1998, Archbishop Charles Chaput established The Catholic Foundation with a clear mission: to professionally manage and safeguard the financial gifts of the faithful for the long-term benefit of the Church. Nearly three...

(Photo by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic) “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26 Jesus’ question to Martha is personal. But it is not simply addressed to Martha; it is addressed to us. Do we believe this? Do we trust that Christ truly has power over death, and that our loved ones live in him? For the times when we fail in that...

Icon of Saint John Henry Newman written by Jacques Bihin in 2022. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0) The All Saints Day proclamation of St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church was entirely welcome, if not without a certain irony. First, the good news. Newman was one of the most creative Christian minds of the nineteenth century, a truth seeker whose lifelong search for the face of Christ took him from evangelicalism through reformist, High Church Anglicanism into Catholicism....

In the quiet plains near the Wyoming border, the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of St. Walburga live a life of prayer and praise — a hidden wellspring of grace for the Church and the world. (Photo courtesy of the Abbey of St. Walburga) If you’ve never been to Virginia Dale, Colorado, it’s quiet. There’s not much “going on” by worldly standards, and most people might just be passing through on their way to Laramie or Fort Collins. But in that quaint and quiet town, mere miles from the Wyoming...

Becky Heier, an art teacher at Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton, has been named the Colorado Private, Independent and Charter School Art Educator of the Year by the Colorado Art Education Association. (Photo courtesy of Frassati Catholic Academy's Facebook) When students step into Becky Heier’s art classroom at Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton, they find more than brushes and paints. They find a place where creativity becomes prayer and where beauty points to something — and Someone...