Canonization Pursued for Colorado Teen Who Sacrificed Life in Highlands Ranch School Shooting

DENVER (KDVR) Faith leaders in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, are asking the Catholic church to consider recognizing local teen Kendrick Castillo as a saint.

Castillo, 18, gave his life to save others during the May 7, 2019, school shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch. One of the suspects reportedly arrived late to class and pulled out a gun while ordering the whole room not to move.

Castillo ignored that order, charging the gunman, which allowed the other students time to take cover and escape. He was shot and killed, and eight others were wounded. His actions have made him a community hero ever since.

In November, Douglas County honored the teen by naming a busy street after him. Now, the Diocese of Colorado Springs has received a petition from the St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch to open his cause for canonization. As of Aug. 1, no cause for Castillo’s canonization had been opened.

“I am very grateful for the time and effort that Father Gregory Bierbaum and Father Patrick DiLoreto of St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch have spent gathering evidence and conducting interviews to prepare for a petition to open the cause for canonization of Kendrick Castillo,” said Colorado Springs Bishop James Golka in a statement. “Although I have just begun to review the information submitted, it seems clear that Kendrick was an exceptional young man.”

The priests are starting to collect testimony through interviews and information gathering to determine whether Castillo’s life was one of “heroic virtue.”

This is not yet a petition to Rome for Castillo to be considered a saint. If Bishop James Golka and the Diocese of Colorado Springs approve of the evidence collected for Castillo’s canonization, the petition will be forwarded to Rome.

Castillo had attended the Notre Dame School in Denver and served as Squire of the Knights of Columbus in a Denver council. His funeral was held at St. Mary Parish in Littleton.

What is the process of canonization?

There are three official steps to sainthood, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Candidates first become a “Venerable,” then “Blessed,” and finally “Saint.”

Venerable individuals are people who have died, but are recognized by the pope as “having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.”

“To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life,” the conference explains on its website. “Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification.”

However, the pope can waive these requirements, and the conference also noted that a miracle is not required before the martyrs’ beatification, but is required before canonization.

Canonization is a lengthy process that takes years or even centuries. Church leaders say that the process involves lots of prayer and discernment, as a large part of the process is determining whether the individual at hand has a faithful following, whether the faithful invoke the potential saint’s intercession, and whether miracles were granted through Castillo’s intercession.

“As we study and discern how to approach the massive undertaking of promoting a canonization cause, I ask all the faithful to keep Kendrick’s family in their prayers,” Golka said in his statement. “I also encourage everyone to privately invoke Kendrick’s intercession, praying especially for the youth in our diocese, that they emulate his example of fortitude and generosity.” 

On its Facebook page, St. Mark Catholic Church noted that Father Bierbaum was asking individuals to report any “out-of-the-ordinary fruits” from veneration of Castillo and said that the church members could ask for Castillo’s intercession in “any matter we think appropriate.”