New Advent Archbishop

OUR LADY OF THE NEW ADVENT

"Radical missionary zeal is radical availability to the Holy Spirit. This is the foundation of Jubilee. This is the faith and witness of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the New Advent. She is the perfect disciple, the model of every virtue. She is our guide star to the Jubilee."

"As we resume our journey to the Great Jubilee, I entrust this local Church and all our plans and aspirations to her maternal intercession." (Good News of Great Joy, Pastoral, December 24, 1997)

Mary's great power flows out of her apparent weakness, her humility, her lowliness, So too the Church is many times written off by the world -- and yet she forever leaves her mark on the soul of the age, through the witness of holy women and men. She changes the world by changing hearts one at a time.

(Installation Homily, Feast of the Annunciation, 1997.)

River of Mercy
December 2, 1998

This "Advent joy" has marked every moment of John Paul II's pontificate. From his very first encyclical, Redeemer of Man (Redemptor Hominis), and repeatedly in the years since, he has urged us to "be not afraid." He has encouraged us to live the period leading up to the Great Jubilee 2000 as a new Advent, ". . .[f]or Advent prepares us to meet the One who was, who is and who is to come." It is this Advent spirit which separates Catholics fundamentally from the fear which seems to grip so much of the world as we approach the new millennium. It is this Advent spirit which the Holy Father invites each of us to welcome into our lives.

Our Lady of the New Advent Institute FormedDenver Catholic Register
March 17, 1999

It gives me great joy to announce today the foundation of the Our Lady of the New Advent Theological Institute, dedicated to forming a new generation of Catholic evangelizers for today's new mission territory—right here in northern Colorado. For the past two years, the Archdiocese of Denver has explored the possibility of local affiliation with the theological faculty of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. Those discussions have now succeeded. Our Lady of the New Advent Theological Institute will have the ability to grant pontifical degrees to its students.

This is a marvelous honor and a tremendous gift to our local Church. In its opening phase, the institute will grant STB (baccalaureate in sacred theology) degrees only—and only to our seminarians. But in coming years, as rapidly as our resources allow, the degree programs will open up to laypersons as well. Moreover, with God's help and our people's generosity, we hope to develop license and doctorate programs in the future.

All archdiocesan priestly, diaconal and lay formation programs, along with the Office for Liturgy, will soon transfer to the institute. The reason, again, is simple: To evangelize today's world, we need the best possible integration of the various vocations within the Church. Through the institute, we hope to shape new apostles rooted in the heart of the Church, who truly understand, respect and mutually support each other's vocations from the very beginning of their formation.