"The goal is sainthood": Linda Platt and the St. John Vianney Lay Division

When tragedy struck, Linda Platt’s life changed forever — not only through loss but through a deeper encounter with Christ. 

(Photo provided)

Raised in Mexico in a close-knit Catholic family, Platt had always dreamed of becoming a missionary. But when her mother was killed suddenly in a car accident while Platt was expecting her second child, she found herself questioning everything she believed. 

“It was a difficult moment in my life,” Platt said. “Even though I was Catholic my whole life, I reached a point where I was questioning our Lord. I didn’t understand why this had happened.” 

Platt said she had grown up in a culture where family was central, so her mother’s death left her feeling unanchored.  

“I was lost,” she said. “I knew about God, but I didn’t really know him.” 

One Sunday, she noticed a parish bulletin announcement for a retreat at Spirit of Christ Parish in Arvada.  

“I wasn’t aware it was connected to the Denver Catholic Biblical School,” Platt said. “I just knew I needed to go. The Lord captured my heart in that moment. I realized what I was longing for wasn’t something in the world, but a more intimate relationship with him.” 

Platt had studied engineering in Mexico and worked in the field for several years, but she said her work left her unfulfilled.  

“I always had this missionary desire that wasn’t being lived out,” she said. “I wanted to help people, to give more of myself.” 

After attending the retreat, she enrolled in the Denver Catholic Biblical School and completed the first two years of the program. That experience inspired her to go further.  

“I felt the Lord wanted more of me,” she said. “So, I decided to leave my career in engineering and focus on full-time ministry at the Augustine Institute.” 

Platt eventually earned a master's in biblical theology from the Augustine Institute and became deeply involved in the St. John Vianney Lay Division. Her bilingual background opened new opportunities to serve.  

“The Lord used the talents he gave me,” she said. “I started translating the Biblical School curriculum into Spanish and helped open the first Spanish-language classes. It was a challenge, but I realized it was the Lord working through me.” 

Platt taught year one and year two courses at the Spanish Biblical School — salvation history, the Synoptic Gospels and the letters of St. Paul.  

“I tell my students to find one verse that speaks to them and let it be their calling,” she said. For Platt, that verse is Psalm 27:8: ‘Seek his face; your face, Lord, do I seek.’ 

Through teaching, Platt said she learned to see success differently.  

“The Lord helped me detach from the things of the world,” she said. “It’s not about success or achievement. The goal is sanctity — to be an imitator of Christ.” 

Her years as both student and teacher deepened her understanding of discipleship.  

“I used to think it was me doing the work,” she said. “But the Lord showed me it’s him. We just give him our freedom, and he does the rest.” 

Platt said she had seen countless lives transformed through the Biblical School.  

“Every single student finishes the program as a different person,” she said. “The Word of God changes hearts.” 

She recalled one man who entered the program angry at God because of a strained relationship with his father.  

“Through Scripture, he said the Lord healed his heart and helped him forgive,” Platt said.  

Another woman, who had lost her mother at a young age, found peace after years of resentment.  

“She realized the Lord had never abandoned her,” Platt said. 

For Platt, those stories echoed her own journey. Both of her parents have since passed away — her mother before she began the Biblical School and her father shortly after she earned her master’s degree.  

“In between those two sufferings, the Lord accompanied me,” she said. “He was there through it all.” 

Although Platt once dreamed of serving in Africa, she said she has come to understand her missionary calling in a new way.  

“Here, we have a different kind of poverty. It’s a poverty of the soul,” she said. “People are hungry for meaning. The Word of God fills that hunger.” 

Platt encouraged others to say yes to that same invitation to encounter Christ through Scripture.  

“Before we seek the Lord, he’s already seeking us,” she said. “Many people think they don’t have time, but it’s his time. Give him a chance, and he will transform your life.” 

Her message is one of hope, gratitude and trust.  

“Suffering always has meaning,” Platt said. “If we let the Lord guide us, we’ll see that everything — even the pain — is worth it.” 

Congratulations, Linda, for being named the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal Disciple of the Month! 

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