When Pope Leo XIV chose Bishop James Golka to lead the Archdiocese of Denver, the appointment was immediately viewed as a potential signal for how the Vatican intends to manage division inside the U.S. Catholic Church. Golka, who had headed the Diocese of Colorado Springs for the past five years, was installed on March 25, according to the AP report written by Religion News Service. The archdiocese covers 25 counties in northern Colorado and counts about 600,000 Catholics, giving the change in leadership a profile that extends beyond one city.
Several people in Denver described Golka’s reputation as more unifying than the polarized atmosphere they associated with recent years of archdiocesan leadership. Chas Canfield, operations manager of a women’s emergency shelter in Denver who shares Golka’s hometown of Grand Island, Nebraska, said Golka’s leadership style is rooted in faith rather than in combativeness. “The one word I would use to describe him is joy,” Canfield said. “You never see him not living with the joy of Christ.”
Darren Walsh, who heads Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver, pointed to Aquila’s past record at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when Catholic Charities created hundreds of temporary shelter units for migrants, describing the approach as “nimble.” Walsh said Aquila “empowered Catholic Charities to manage the needs of the people we were serving as we saw fit,” adding that the structure helped the organization respond quickly as conditions changed.
Aquilsa’s supporters also credited him with enabling local Respect Life efforts. Emma Ramirez, director of Respect Life Denver, said Aquila regularly participated in the organization’s anti-abortion initiatives, including joining a Eucharistic procession around a Planned Parenthood clinic last October and later celebrating a Mass at an anti-abortion symposium for high schoolers. Ramirez said the group received what she described as a “really awesome, supportive letter” from Aquila that encouraged priests and lay Catholics to take part in Respect Life Denver’s mission.
The AP report also traced the archdiocese’s conservative identity through a chain of leadership that shaped Denver’s role in influential Catholic evangelizing ministries. It described how Archbishops J. Francis Stafford, later Cardinal, and his successors Charles Chaput and Samuel Aquila helped Denver become a hub for conservative Catholic efforts such as the Fellowship of Catholic University Students and the Augustine Institute. It also noted that the publication The Pillar launched in 2021 with an investigation into Catholic priests’ use of a gay dating app, with support described as coming from Catholic donors in Denver.
Beyond the positive portraits, the report described controversies that have fueled anger and factional conflict, particularly during Aquila’s tenure and around the kinds of appointments and school policies church leaders implemented. The report said Aquila frustrated many progressive Catholics through actions that included instructing Catholic schools not to enroll transgender or queer students in 2022 and by assigning conservative pastors to parishes that had been led by more progressive approaches.
At Most Precious Blood near the University of Denver, the report described a priest sent by Aquila removing “feminist” art and striking “unsuitable” songs from Sunday services, and said homilies accused congregants of feeling “offended that they need to be saved by Jesus.” It added that parishioners sent the archbishop a petition of protest with nearly 900 signatures. Elsewhere, at St. Ignatius Loyola—described as a historically Black Catholic parish led by Jesuits for nearly a century—the report said parishioners struggled after the Jesuits left in 2023 and Aquila replaced them with the Community of St. John.
Rosa Salazar, who at the time led a gospel choir at Loyola, said the new pastor, the Rev. Francis Therese Krautter, replaced Gospel music with Gregorian chant and Western classical music. Salazar said parishioners later found “Lead Me, Guide Me” Black Catholic hymnals missing from the pews and thrown in a dumpster, and she said Krautter told the congregation in a church bulletin message that the hymnals were discarded due to an “unfortunate misunderstanding,” but declined to replace them. The report said neither Krautter nor the archdiocese responded to requests for comment.
The AP report also included positive assessments of Golka and accounts that, in contrast to Denver’s recent conflicts, he may seek relationships across constituencies. In Colorado Springs, the report said Golka responded to the November 2022 mass shooting at Club Q, a LGBTQ+ nightclub, that killed five people and injured more than two dozen others, by describing the violence as “especially troubling” and urging prayers for the victims and their families. It also said that during a press conference in Colorado Springs last month, Golka discussed celebrating Mass in Spanish and said he wants to “walk with” and “support” immigrants.
The report quoted the Rev. Scott Hendrickson, president of Regis University in Denver, as saying he believes immigration is high on Golka’s radar. It also quoted Canfield saying he plans to attend Golka’s March 25 installation at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver and characterized the transition as welcoming. “I think it will be a seamless transition,” Canfield said. “He very much falls in love with the people that he’s around.”