Rocky Mountain Way
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
by Molly Mulqueen

Colorado has always been mission territory. In fact, a Franciscan friar from Spain, Domingo de Anza, is said to have established the first mission in Colorado in 1706. Nearly 300 years later, another Franciscan is preaching the good news to the people of Colorado with all the vigor of a missionary. Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., has served the Archdiocese of Denver since 1997, and has worked tirelessly toward the Holy Father's goal of a "new evangelization" of America.

Under Archbishop Chaput's leadership, Denver has made great strides toward that goal with a myriad of opportunities for Catholics to enhance their education in the faith. Denver Catholics have invested in facilities and programs, and improved teacher salaries in Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the archdiocese, and also launched the Our Lady of the New Advent Theological Institute for adult formation. The Institute includes the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, where 58 young men are currently studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Denver. Friar de Anza must be very pleased.

All of this, and more, has been put into place by a man who told me that he was not sure he wanted the job when the call came for him to be elevated to Bishop (of Rapid City, South Dakota) in 1988.

"I am a Capuchin Franciscan, and St. Francis of Assisi did not want his brothers to become prelates," Archbishop Chaput explained. "The resolution of that for me is to try to be a bishop after the fashion of being a Franciscan."

Archbishop Chaput, a Native American from the Prairie Band Potawatomi tribe, was born in Concordia, Kansas in 1944. He began studies to become a diocesan priest, but instead joined the Capuchin Franciscans after reading a biography of St. Francis of Assisi. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1970, and held several leadership roles in his Capuchin province until he became a bishop in 1988. While he was in Rapid City, Archbishop Chaput was known for his commitment to catechetics and Catholic education, and for his devotion to minority groups in the Church. And then came the call to become Archbishop of Denver.

"I had lived in Denver before becoming Bishop of Rapid City, because the provincial headquarters of the Capuchin Franciscans is located here," Archbishop Chaput stated. "So coming to Denver, in some sense, was coming home, but in an extremely different position. I would have never expected to be a Bishop of Denver at any time."

"[Denver] is a much more complicated diocese than Rapid City. I jokingly say that being Bishop of Rapid City was more fun, but being Bishop of Denver is more exciting. With the complexity of the Church here and the multiplicity of resources, it is a great opportunity to be creative and try to accomplish some beautiful things for God."

Archbishop Chaput is a very humble man, and he would be the first to credit his staff and his predecessors in Denver with many of the archdiocese's accomplishments of the last four years. But if you spend any time at the Catholic Pastoral Center near downtown Denver, you soon realize that the vitality and work ethic behind all of these initiatives radiate from the top. Despite his work and travel schedule, he has a reputation for leading with a personal touch, for seldom forgetting a name or a face, and for playing a mean game of racquetball-even beating seminarians half his age.

That high energy level is an important prerequisite to be the Ordinary in Northern Colorado, a vast, fast growing, and challenging region. In March of 2001, Auxiliary Bishop Jose H. Gomez was appointed to Denver to share some of the daunting workload.

The Archdiocese of Denver, nestled against the majestic Rocky Mountains, is arguably one of the most beautiful dioceses in the country, but it also may be one of the most physically difficult to shepherd. It covers an expanse of over 39,000 square miles, much of that over mountainous terrain steep enough to test rigorously the best in four-wheel-drive vehicles-even when it isn't snowing. It includes high-tech urban areas, upscale resort communities, rural ranch and farm country, and depressed mining towns. And the diversity of the archdiocese is as deep as it is broad. There is a strong and active Hispanic Catholic community in Northern Colorado, as well as faithful of many racial and ethnic backgrounds and political orientations.

When it comes to Church politics, Archbishop Chaput avoids labeling people or ideas as "liberal" or "conservative." He has said that as Catholics, our views should reflect Church teaching, which is not based on political opinions, but on the truth. In his new book, Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics, he explains further:

As Catholics we can't be a source of joy and hope for anybody on the outside if we're dimming the light of the Church from the inside with bickering over who we are as a community. If we truly wish to participate in the life of the community we call the Church, we need to stop thinking about the Church as if she were a political organization, social club, or corporation. We need to stop thinking like American consumers and lobbyists, and start thinking like Catholic believers.

"I think the truth is naturally attractive, but sometimes people get confused and think that some of the false teachings that are going around are options," explained Archbishop Chaput. "For example, on the issue of contraception, some people think that the Church's teaching is really just the Church's opinion rather than the official teaching of the Church. I think it is very important to be clear where the Church stands on that and other life issues, like abortion and capital punishment, and also on issues of justice. We have to be mindful in American society of knowing that we are advocates of the poor and of those who are most in need, because very few people speak for them."

"I think it is really important for us not to look conservative and not to look liberal," Archbishop Chaput continued. "Also, it is very important for us not to worry about what others might call us, because otherwise, we are just playing to issues rather than giving ourselves to the truth."

According to Archbishop Chaput, the way to give ourselves more fully to the truth is to study the teachings of the Church:

"The way to do that, of course, is with the tools we use: the New Testament and Old Testament Scriptures. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a wonderful guide, and we also need to be attentive to the teachings of the Holy Father. And I think that there should be a vast and deep presupposition that what the bishops are teaching is in communion with what the Pope teaches, and not to be suspicious of the official teachers of the Church."

"In other words, I am suggesting that we just have a positive, open confidence in the Lord working through His Church."

That "positive, open confidence" is an attitude that Archbishop Chaput models in his life, and it comes through clearly in his many efforts to evangelize the people of Northern Colorado, a mission territory for the 21st century.

Archbishop Chaput's new book, Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics can be ordered by calling Benedictus Books toll-free at (888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a 10% discount. Visit www.archden.org to review many of Archbishop Chaput's pastoral letters, homilies, speeches, and newspaper columns.

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