PHOTOS | Archbishop Aquila Ordains Religious Order's First U.S. Vocation to the Diaconate
- Jenny Uebbing
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The 9:30 Mass at St. Mary Parish in Littleton reliably draws a young crowd, but last Sunday’s was a record breaker. More than 60 altar servers lined the front pews as 8 priests and one beloved archbishop concelebrated the ordination Mass of Deacon Riley Blanchard, the first U.S. vocation for the Spanish religious order, the Disciples of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
But then, Deacon Riley, himself one of 9 children, is used to a crowd.
In what has become a heartfelt, if somewhat logistically-challenging custom, all of the boys currently active in St. Mary’s altar server program were once again invited to join Deacon Riley at the altar for his big day. Deacon Blanchard, who credits his years of altar serving as a contributor to his discernment of a priestly vocation, has become a bit of a rock star to the boys and young men of the parish. The lead altar servers, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were invited to join him in a kind of “holy bachelor party” for the man of honor, including a pizza feast, a brutal paintball war, personal testimonies and an all-night Adoration vigil featuring pairs of boys claiming an hour each between 10 pm and 5 am in St. Mary’s Adoration Chapel where they interceded for Deacon Blanchard and spent time in prayer for their own vocations.
Getting more than 60 boys vested for the Mass the next morning required patience, planning, plenty of emails and a hefty dose of cooperation from neighboring parishes, including St. Thomas More in Centennial and All Souls in Englewood, both of which lent additional cassocks and surplices to help clothe the enthusiastic turnout.
(Photo by Jason Smith/The Things That I See Photography)
The morning was made especially poignant by the presence of Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, who, in one of his final liturgies in his last weeks as Archbishop of Denver, joked with the crowd that as emeritus archbishop, he planned to make it a habit to show up “with less than 2 hours notice” to say future Sunday Masses at St. Mary, a threat that was greeted with a standing ovation from the congregation.
Addressing Father Andrej Makovnik DCJM, the parish’s pastor, he extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Disciples for their years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Denver, both in the parish and on the faculty of the seminary. The gift of an American-born vocation to their order, which has “given so much of itself to Denver,” felt particularly appropriate, Archbishop Aquila noted.
During his homily, Archbishop reminisced on his own 50 years of priesthood — 25 spent as a bishop — and invited the newly ordained to “embrace his vocation fully, giving himself without reservation to the Lord who would give him back mother, brother and sister … one hundredfold.”
He also adjured Deacon Blanchard to “not withhold the truth of marriage, of family life, of Christ’s plan for human flourishing” from the couples and families whom he would serve in his life as a deacon, and eventually as a priest.
“Never be afraid to give them the truth, the full truth, of God’s plan for their lives,” the archbishop said.
Noting the rising secularization of the culture and the loss of a collective understanding of the gift of marriage, he encouraged Deacon Blanchard to present a heroic witness of the truth of Jesus Christ to his people.
Looking out on a crowd of families, including most of his own large family present, Deacon Blanchard surely had a helpful illustration of family life to draw from. His father, raising a toast to his newly ordained son at the reception following Mass, encouraged all present to “trust God, because you never know what he’ll do.”
Pointing out that Deacon Blanchard is one of nine children in his family, he thanked the Lord for his son’s yes, both to the Lord and to the Disciples, and shook his head, a measure of wonder on his face.
“With the Lord, life is always an adventure,” he said.
