Kendrick Castillo was 18 when he died tragically in the Stem school shooting at Highlands Ranch, Colorado (United States), on May 7, 2019. He was the only deadly victim. Now, this young man could become saint in the Catholic Church.
According to witnesses, he died after getting up in the middle of the fire and running to stop one of the attackers along with a couple of colleagues.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
The Diocese of Colorado Springs – to which the city of Highlands Ranch belongs – announced that it has received a request to open its cause of canonization.
“I am very grateful for the time and effort that Father Gregory Bierbaum and Father Patrick Diloreto, of the San Marcos parish in Highlands Ranch, have dedicated to gather tests and conduct interviews to prepare the request for opening the cause of canonization of Kendrick Castillo. Although I have just begun to review the information presented, it seems clear that Kendrick was an exceptional young Mons. James Becka, Bishop of Colorado Springs.
He added: “While we study and discern how to address the enormous task of promoting a cause of canonization, I ask all the faithful who keep Kendrick’s family in their prayers. I also encourage everyone to invoke Kendrick’s intercession privately, especially praying for the youth of our diocese, so that they emulate their example of strength and generosity.”
Although Castillo had many links with the Archdiocese of Denver, ”he assisted the Notre Dame in Denver, he was a squire of the Knights of Columbus in a Denver Council and his funeral was held in the Santa María Parish in Littleton in Littleton -, the church is fixed in the place where the person died to determine what diocese has the right to ask for the opening of the cause.
Therefore, since Castillo died in Highlands Ranch, which belongs to the Diocese of Colorado Springs, corresponds to this diocese to carry out the investigation. Mons. Becka and the Diocese will now review and examine the evidence collected and, if approved, the petition will be sent to Rome for consideration.
Father Diloreto, a parochial vicar in San Marcos, is one of those in charge of gathering evidence for the cause of canonization of Castillo. He and the parish priest, Bierbaum, said that Castillo’s story had emerged repeatedly in prayer for months.
“Upon discovering that the subject was in the heart of both, we felt that it was an inspiration of the Holy Spirit to investigate more,” said Diloreto in an interview with CNA. “After interviewing his parents and reviewing the way he died, we believed that there were reasons to ask the diocese to open a cause for him.”
Diloreto explained that priests consider that Castillo fits in the category of “Offering of Life.” In 2017, Pope Francis declared in a Motu proprio A new category of Christian life suitable for beatification called “Offering of Life”: when a person dies prematurely offering his life for love of God and neighbor.
Although similar to martyrdom, this definition applies to God’s servants who gave their life for charity in circumstances that do not strictly fulfill the definition of martyrdom, which requires the presence of a persecutor.
“He (Castillo) was bravely launched against one of the school attackers without hesitation, allowing other students to follow him and reduce the aggressor. This saved the lives of his classmates, when in any other circumstance there would surely be more deaths that day,” Diloreto said.
When talking about Castillo’s faith, the priest described him as “a pious young man who deeply cared about his faith and wanted to witness faith for others, especially for those who had never found our Lord.”
“We have seen it through the devotional it had,” he continued. “For example, he always wore his rosary with him – since his rosaries were, it can also be deduced that he used them frequently. He carried one of his rosaries when he was killed, who was later given to a classmate who was in the room.”
Active duty in your parish
Diloreto also shared that Castillo served in Mass and funerals, was an active volunteer in his parish and attended funerals of people who did not even know, just to pray for the deceased and his family.
“While the country faces more and more persecutions to Christians, especially in these horrible school shootings, such as last week in Minnesota, we can look at heroic examples such as Kendrick and children who protected others to inspire us,” Diloreto said.
“The elderly can look at these young people as hope for future generations, in the face of skepticism about the future of the Church. Young people can see these examples and inspire that they can also live a life of virtue and that they can become holy,” he added. “It is not something that is out of reach, if they are willing to grow by virtue through acts of charity and the grace of the sacraments.”
The canonization process is long and has many steps. An essential part is to determine if the candidate has miracles attributed to his intercession. The Church requires a miracle verified for beatification, after which the individual is called “Blessed.” Then, another miracle verified for canonization is needed, at which time the person is declared “holy.”
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.
Francesca Purchio Fenton
Francesca Pollio Fenton is responsible for social networks of Catholic News Agency. He received his degree in communications with emphasis on digital media from the University of Colorado, in Denver (United States).