The ‘Yes’ Before the Yes: Archbishop-designate Golka’s Quiet Fiat at Solemn Vespers on Annunciation Eve
- André Escaleira, Jr.
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
Inspired by Mary and strengthened by prayer, Denver’s incoming archbishop begins his ministry with a commitment to Christ and the Church in a formal profession of faith and oath of fidelity to the pope, the Catholic Church and his ministry.
Mary as the Model
On the eve of the great solemnity of the Annunciation, on which the Virgin Mary said “yes” to God’s plan of salvation, a different “yes” was heard echoing through the CoBank Arena at the National Western Complex in Denver on Tuesday evening.
Thousands gathered from across the archdiocese for the first of three days of events surrounding the installation of Archbishop-designate James Golka as the sixth Archbishop of Denver. During the trilingual Solemn Vespers — a Catholic prayer service from the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church’s official prayer — Northern Colorado’s new shepherd began to take up his mantle, but only with a spirit of profound humility, much like that with which Mary approached her role as Mother of God.
“It is precisely friendship with Jesus, fellowship with the Trinity, intimacy, and it is that very commitment and that very aspect that we see in [Mary] and that we are called to imitate,” explained Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila during his homily during Vespers. The retiring archbishop celebrated the prayer service, his last as Archbishop of Denver, at the request of Archbishop-designate Golka. “We, too, are to open our lives up to the Holy Spirit, giving ourselves over to the very power of God. And it is Mary who intercedes for you tonight as you take on the role of shepherd of this archdiocese.”
As Mary intercedes for Archbishop-designate Golka, she also serves as a perfect model for his mission and ministry, the archbishop continued.
“Just as she, in her fiat, in the total gift of herself, made herself available to the Spirit, so too are we called to do the same,” Archbishop Aquila said.
For all priests, and particularly each bishop, that total self-gift ought to take place each day, especially at the altar.
“It is the Eucharist and the woman of the Eucharist, Mary, who teaches the bishop to offer his life daily in the Mass,” he noted. “At the altar, he makes his own the fiat, with which Our Lady offered herself at the joyful moment of the Annunciation, and again in sorrow at the foot of the Cross. The Eucharist is the source of our very life, as we lay down our lives and imitate Jesus.”
(Photos by Grant Whitty/Denver Catholic)
Promising Faithfulness
Mere hours before Archbishop-designate Golka’s own “fiat” or “yes” will be formalized in his Installation Mass, a quieter affirmation took place, as he placed his hand on the Book of the Gospels, professed the Catholic faith and swore fidelity to the Church.
“I, James Robert Golka, with firm faith believe and profess all and everything that is contained in the symbol of faith,” the archbishop-designate said as he began the Nicene Creed. Following the Creed, Archbishop-designate Golka proclaimed his firm belief in the Word of God, the Church’s tradition, the Magisterium and the Church’s teachings on faith and morals.
He then made an oath of fidelity to the Holy Father, the Catholic Church and his mission as Northern Colorado’s archbishop, promising to teach and preach the faith courageously, administer the goods of the Church well, conduct himself “conscientiously and reverently” and lead by example.
“In carrying out the mandate entrusted to me, I will show particular affection to all priests and deacons, prudent cooperators in the order of bishops, and to men and women religious, sharers in the one work,” Archbishop-designate Golka prayed. “I will likewise take great care to promote sacred vocations, so that the spiritual needs of the whole Church will be appropriately met. I will recognize and promote the dignity of laypeople and their proper role in the Church’s mission, and I will be especially concerned to promote missionary works aimed at the evangelization of peoples.”
(Photos by Grant Whitty/Denver Catholic)
(Photos by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic)
Rooted in Family and Grace
Making such lofty assents is no small task, to be sure, but Northern Colorado’s new archbishop has been formed for the “yes” through grace-filled moments in family and faith, Archbishop Aquila noted.
“In this time of prayer for you, my dearest brother, you will make public before the Church of Denver your profession of faith and your oath of fidelity,” he said in his homily at Vespers. “You will give witness to the faith that you have experienced for the last 60 years. The faith that was nourished by your beloved parents and by your family. The faith that was nourished in your priesthood and as being Bishop of Colorado Springs.”
Far from the end point, the faith that has led Archbishop-designate Golka this far will only grow further as he assumes his new pastoral mission.
“It is precisely that gift of faith that continues to grow in you each day. Faith is a lifelong journey with conversion, configuring ourselves ever more closely to Christ,” Archbishop Aquila continued.
Community Excitement and Hope
The historic beginning of the new shepherd’s ministry was met with great excitement from the faithful who attended Solemn Vespers from parishes around the archdiocese.
“I'm really excited to be here, and I thought there was a really beautiful witness of brotherhood between Archbishop and Archbishop-designate,” said Emma Loest, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Parish in Lafayette.
“It was just very beautiful. It's just a sign of Christ's love and his blessing upon the Church,” added John Caesar, a teacher at Frassati Catholic Academy in Thornton.
Many from the Neocatechumenal Way even evidenced that enthusiasm in song and praise outside the CoBank Arena before and after Solemn Vespers, praying for the Holy Spirit to guide Northern Colorado’s new shepherd.
“We’re here to support him, to welcome him and to show him that our faith is strong, that it means a lot for us to welcome him,” said Amos, a parishioner of Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora.
In a tender moment of apostolic succession on display, as Archbishop-designate Golka greeted members of the Way, he also honored J. Francis Cardinal Stafford, who was in attendance at Vespers. The cardinal, who invited the Neocatechumenal Way to the archdiocese during his tenure as Archbishop of Denver, also made a point to visit with the faithful late into the evening.
(Photos by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic)
Together as one family in Christ, as the faithful look forward to Archbishop-designate Golka’s ministry in Northern Colorado, they couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of hope.
“We’re so excited to be in the presence of another apostle of Jesus Christ. God entrusts us with shepherds and we’ve heard beautiful, wonderful things about Archbishop Golka," said Sr. Mary Grace, SV, noting the shepherd's inspiring love for the faith, his priests and for life. "We already feel the joy and the anticipation that God gives the Church when he entrusts a new leader. We’re grateful for Archbishop Aquila. We love him and look up to him a lot. And we’re looking forward to the gift of a new shepherd that God has given us.”
“I think we have a bright future for us. God is with us. Who can be against us?” said Sean Markham, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Parish in Lafayette.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings new to our archdiocese, how the tools and the gifts that he brings with the grace of the Holy Spirit will improve and grow our church and bring more members to Christ ultimately,” added Caesar.
Undergirding it all, though, is a profound spirit of prayer, as Catholics across the archdiocese promised their ongoing prayers for their new spiritual father.
“I’m very excited for what God is going to do through him. I know that God is going to bring about great things through our bishop. I’m praying a lot for him and for our whole community,” shared Aline, a parishioner at Holy Name Parish in Sheridan.
“We’re praying for a holy shepherd. That’s what we all want: a shepherd after Christ’s heart. We pray that God gives Archbishop Golka a real outpouring of his Holy Spirit, that he might follow the Lord and let us run after him in our pursuit of Jesus," Sr. Mary Grace continued. "We also pray that this is an opportunity for the whole Church of the United States to look to Denver in this moment, to look to God’s inspiration, God’s election of a new bishop. May it be a time of unity, joy and hope that our God is in control, and we’re delighted to follow his shepherds.”
“We hope that the Holy Spirit guides him. We know that he will make good decisions. We know that he will be a good pastor, and we’re really happy to receive him,” said Magda Hinojos of Queen of Peace Parish in Aurora. “We’re overjoyed in our community to have a new pastor, and we hope that he feels welcomed by all of us here in Denver, that he feels a part of our community.”
“Our prayers are with him because we know it’s not easy. The work he does is not easy. Being the shepherd of all the Catholic parishes in the archdiocese is a tough job, very demanding and attacked,” added Cesar, her husband. “But we hope that God guides him and gives him the grace to make good decisions, always with the Holy Spirit guiding us well.”
(Photos by Dan Petty/Denver Catholic)
One Archbishop Prays for Another
As he concluded his ministry as Archbishop of Denver, Archbishop Aquila exhorted the faithful to just that: pray and intercede for their new shepherd.
“I invite the entire local church of the Archdiocese that, as Archbishop Golka is making his profession of faith and his oath of fidelity, pray for him, interceding that the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow him, that he will proclaim, in season and out of season, the kerygma, the good news of Jesus Christ,” he said.
Himself the beneficiary of countless intercessions and prayers over the course of his 13 and a half years of ministry in Northern Colorado, Archbishop Aquila knows well the power of the spiritual practice — and promised his own fervent prayer for his successor, too.
“Know my prayers for you, my beloved brother, as you begin your ministry tomorrow in this archdiocese,” he concluded. “I pray that the light of Denver will continue to shine brightly through your faith, through your devotion to Jesus Christ and to his mother. Know that she prays for you each day, that you will be more united to her son, and configured to him.”
