Bishop Emeritus Michael John Sheridan, who served as Bishop of Colorado Springs from 2003-2021, died peacefully on Sept. 27 at Penrose Hospital.

A vigil will be held Thursday, Oct. 6 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 22 W. Kiowa St., with Bishop James Golka presiding. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, Oct. 7 at 12 p.m. at Holy Apostles Church, 4925 N. Carefree Circle in Colorado Springs.

Michael John Sheridan was born to Bernice and John Sheridan on March 4, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Corpus Christi Catholic School and graduated from St. Louis University High School, where he was known as an excellent student. He then enrolled in Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri.

At the end of his freshman year in college, he made the decision to enter Cardinal Glennon College Seminary in St. Louis and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1967. He then began his theology studies at Kenrick seminary, where he was also active in the theater group.  He was ordained a priest on May 29, 1971, by Cardinal John Carberry.

After ordination, he continued his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, earning a Licentiate in Sacred Theology. Upon returning to St. Louis, he was assigned to teach at Kenrick Seminary, where he remained for more than a decade. He continued his love of acting, performing with other clergy in a group called the Priestly Players.

He returned to parish life in 1988 and served at several parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. In 1997, while serving as pastor of Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights, Missouri, he was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II. He was ordained a bishop by Archbishop Justin Rigali on Sept. 3, 1997, along with now-Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas.

In Dec. 4, 2001, Pope John Paul II named him co-adjutor of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He was installed and became the ordinary of the diocese on Jan. 30, 2003.

Among his many achievements during his tenure as Bishop of Colorado Springs were the development of a robust vocations program that resulted in the ordination of many new priests for the diocese and the construction of the St. John Henry Newman Chapel and Catholic Student Center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Bishop Sheridan also presided over the construction of several new churches in the diocese, including St. Dominic Parish in Security, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Castle Rock, Our Lady of the Woods Parish in Woodland Park and St. Benedict Parish in Falcon.

Bishop Sheridan was a gifted speaker and teacher. Beginning in 2008, he hosted a weekly radio show during which he interviewed hundreds of guests – from cardinals to actors and musicians -- on a wide variety of topics related to the Catholic faith. The show remained on the air until October 2020.

Bishop Sheridan is survived by two cousins, Nancy (Tony) Berra and Linda (Kevin) Noland, and two nephews.

Memorials can be sent to the care of Esperanza Griffith at the Catholic Pastoral Center, 228 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, 80903.  

Please note: The Hispanic Heritage Mass with Bishop Golka will take place as scheduled on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel Parish. However, instead of a celebration afterwards, there will be a holy hour to pray for the repose of the soul of Bishop Sheridan.

En un acto de respeto al fallecimiento del Obispo Emérito Michael J. Sheridan, se cancela el convivio programado para este viernes en la Parroquia de San Gabriel. (comida, bailables, etc).La misa sigue según estaba planeada a las 7:00 pm y estará presidida por el Obispo James R. Golka.  Después de misa tendremos una Hora Santa.

Fr. Philip Scott, FJ

Fr. Philip Scott was born in Lima, Peru in 1960. After a life away from Our Lord, he had a St. Paul conversion experience in 1980. Then after being engaged with a wonder girl Fr. Scott was called to ‘leave all’ and he entered the priesthood. Fr. Scott studied at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. and was ordained on May 6, 1989.

On April 1,1998 Fr. Scott received permission from his Bishop in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida to begin a community called Family of Jesus made up of priests, brothers and sisters. The community is in Puerto Maldonado, Peru (The Amazon Jungle). Now he travels all over giving retreats to priests, married couples, lay people, young adults, men and women.

familiadejesusperu.org

Patrick and Joy Campbell

Featured on EWTN, and numerous Catholic publications around the world, Patrick and Joy Campbell have a blended family of nine children. Unexpectedly and without much spiritual preparation, their family was forced to do battle with the enemy. Ultimately, this experience called them to learn and teach other families how to prepare, defend and sanctify their own families.

Their Cross of St. Benedict Society and Joyful Hope Missionaries has an international membership of over 58,000 intercessors praying for the healing of families. The Breakthrough Healing Workshop restores families and Heals from the inside out. Miraculous Encounter with the Trinity brings your family back to God.

Patrick and Joy Campbell were honored speakers at the 2021 Conference.

Bishop James Golka

Bishop James R. Golka was born Sept. 22, 1966 in Grand Island, Nebraska, the fourth of 10 children born to Robert and Patricia Golka. He graduated from Grand Island Central Catholic High School and attended Creighton University from 1985-89, where he earned degrees in philosophy and theology.

He served as a Jesuit lay missionary volunteer for the Native American Missions in South Dakota from 1989-1990 before entering St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota, where he received both a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Sacramental Theology. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grand Island on June 3, 1994, by Bishop Lawrence McNamara.

Bishop Golka has also served as a member of the Diocesan College of Consultors, the Vicar General for the Diocese of Grand Island and as rector and pastor of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are honored to have Bishop Golka celebrate our Friday evening Mass this year. www.diocs.com

Dann Aungst

The Road to Purity

Dann Aungst is a Certified Addiction Counselor, speaker, author and a recovering sex addict. Dann has authored several books including From One Addict to Another,  40 Days to Freedom,  Winning the Battle for Sexual Purity, and God’s Plan for Healthy Sexuality Workshop.  Dann also published the internationally distributed pamphlet 5 Keys to Freedom from sexual sin which was granted an imprimatur by Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila. Additionally, Dann does presentations to Seminarians on how to effectively address pornography in the confessional.

Dann also pioneered the first Catholic men’s sexual integrity small group program called Restoring God’s Foundation which also has an imprimatur by Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila. Dann coordinates multiple groups using the Restoring God’s Foundation program at the St. John Vianney seminary in Denver. Dann has been a guest on Catholic Radio, The Terry and Jesse Show, is a guest writer for Covenant Eyes and has spoken at numerous conferences, men's groups and parishes. Dann also does training for priests and deacons to help them better address the topic of pornography in their parishes.

Dann’s recovery was fueled by his personal drive for change, education about himself, the addiction, and restored relationship with Jesus Christ.  Dann’s restored relationship with Jesus was so powerful that he felt personally called to devote his life to telling others that the profound emptiness, worthlessness, rejection and abandonment felt by most addicts is not the truth of their identity in Christ and to help these men and women in this bondage of lies to find truth, healing and authentic love in God and their personal relationships. Dann has answered the call through the mission of Road to Purity, a non-profit organization he founded in 2015.

roadtopurity.com

Patrick and Joy Campbell

Healing of Families

Featured on EWTN, and numerous Catholic publications around the world, Patrick and Joy Campbell have a blended family of nine children. Unexpectedly and without much spiritual preparation, their family was forced to do battle with the enemy. Ultimately, this experience called them to learn and teach other families how to prepare, defend and sanctify their own families.

The Cross of St. Benedict Society and Joyful Hope Missionaries, which they founded, has an international membership of over 58,000 intercessors united in prayer for the healing of families. Together with Father Scott Francis Benet of the Missionaries of Mercy (M.O.M) they travel internationally, ministering to 1000s with their Breakthrough Healing Workshops, which is an online course offered by Catechetical Institute at Franciscan University.

Patrick was commissioned by the Vatican to create and install the 12 foot Cross of the Renewal which is located at Ark and The Dove Retreat Center in Pittsburgh, PA for the 50th Jubilee of the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

The Campbell family also creates handcrafted crucifixes of St. Benedict, and other artisan items which are available for purchase at:

www.crossofstbenedict.com

You can keep up with the Campbell family on their YouTube channel Joyful Hope TV:

https://www.youtube.com/c/JOYFULHOPETV

Fr. Ken Geraci, CPM

Making Room for God

Fr. Ken Geraci, CPM, lived the life of the prodigal son for most of his young adult life. Raised in a nominally Catholic family, who only lived the externals of the faith, Fr. Ken left the Catholic Church for many years. During that time he earned a business degree and worked as a business profession in Advanced R&D and software testing; a few years into his career he joined a few of his co-workers in establishing a $4.5 million Internet software company. Focused on money, fitness, and success, he made little room for God; but God did not give up on him. During this journey, God presented him with challenges that forced him to question his personal beliefs and the question “What is Truth?” Through a series of conversions, years of struggle, study and questioning, Fr. Ken found his way from agnosticism, to non-denominational Christianity, and ultimately back to the Catholic Church.

Fr. Ken joined the Fathers of Mercy in 2006 and was ordained in 2012. For two years, he served as an associate pastor of a medium sized parish and currently serves as a Missionary, webmaster and vocation director for the Fathers of Mercy. Fr. Ken has a great understanding of the personal and societal pressures that individuals face and knows what it is like to “hate coming to church.” His mission talks are for people of all levels of faith; from those who are madly in love with Jesus to those who struggle with church and religion.

www.fathersofmercy.com