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Denver Archbishop Asks Priest to Step Back from Public Speaking
· Confirmed
In Short: Denver Archbishop James Golka has asked Father Chad Ripperger to take a break from public speaking and interviews.
Father Chad Ripperger, a prominent Catholic exorcist in Denver, has been asked by Archbishop James Golka to take a one-year hiatus from public speaking and interviews.
According to a statement from the Archdiocese of Denver, Ripperger will use this time to focus on his community, the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, and the people it serves.
Ripperger’s public speaking engagements have included talks and interviews that have garnered significant attention, with some reports suggesting he was ordered to cease all public ministry for a year.
The Archdiocese of Denver’s statement noted that this decision was made to allow Ripperger to devote more time to his religious community.
In a letter to the outlet, Ripperger confirmed the Archbishop's request, stating, “The Archbishop has asked me to take a break on public speaking.”
Ripperger’s decision comes amid ongoing discussions about the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, which was reportedly never canonically established, according to a September 2016 memo from the Archdiocese.
Despite the Archbishop's request, Ripperger’s social media presence and engagement with his followers have been notable, with one instance involving an electric scooter that gained significant attention.
Ripperger’s journey to priesthood has been marked by a deepening faith, starting from his days at a Polish seminary where he felt a call to become a missionary priest.
He later realized that being a priest meant sacrificing having a family, a realization that came as he grew up and pursued his vocation.
Ripperger’s mission to Christ on the Mountain Parish in Lakewood, Colorado, was to breathe new life into the community, and he used social media as a tool to engage with parishioners and attract more people.
While the Archdiocese of Denver has asked Ripperger to step back from public speaking, the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother remains a focus for his efforts.
The Archdiocese’s decision reflects a broader trend in the Catholic Church to balance public engagement with a focus on community service and religious duties.
Background
Public speaking, or oratory, is the delivery of a speech to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills.
What's confirmed
- “The Archbishop has asked me to take a break on public speaking,” he wrote to the outlet.
- Golka of Denver has asked Father Chad Ripperger “to consider a one-year fast from public speaking and interviews,” according to an Oct. 19 statement from the Archdiocese of Denver.
- A prominent Catholic exorcist in Denver is pausing public speaking and interviews at the request of his archbishop.
- Instead, the Rev. Chad Ripperger will use his “one-year fast” to devote himself to the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother, the semi-contemplative religious community he founded and the people it serves, the archdiocese announced in a Monday statement.
What's still developing
- “I went to like a Polish MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] in Warsaw. And thatʼs actually what I called my Damascus — like Paul riding to Damascus, I was riding on a train to Warsaw to pursue my dreams and thatʼs when God caught me,” he told EWTN News.
- “It only had like 200 followers. No one knew the password from my staff,” he said.
- “Iʼm like, why are we excited about a priest riding a scooter. I’m always telling people we have 2,000 years of history, so many saints … I’m just riding my scooter and that’s more popular than Thomas Aquinas. I’m like, ‘What are you doing, people?’” After that, Kaczmarzyk began to realize the potential social media could have to reach more people with the message of the Gospel and continued to share photos and videos on the parish’s Facebook page and on his own Instagram and TikTok pages.
- “They’re like, ‘Father, there was a girl who set it up but sheʼs gone and no one knows the password.’ So, Iʼm like, ‘Well, letʼs call this Project Lazarus and see what happens because itʼs right now dead and I need to ask Jesus to resurrect it.’” Thinking he could use social media as a way to engage with his parishioners and potentially attract more people to the parish, Kaczmarzyk began to post.
- Kaczmarzyk’s solution involved an electric scooter, a little comedy, and a willingness to step outside his comfort zone by using social media — all in the hope of helping more people encounter Jesus Christ.
- “Slowly this desire since childhood came back to the surface level,” he said.
- “I told my parents I want to become a missionary… Well, my parents thought I was crazy. Even my dad was like, ‘You might get killed,’ and Iʼm like, ‘Thatʼs even better. I will be a martyr, that’s an express path to heaven, sign me up.’” While Kaczmarzyk did not end up becoming a missionary priest, two years into his time at the diocesan seminary in Poland he still had the desire to go somewhere else.
- “I didn’t want to be just the boring priest of a parish in Poland. Thatʼs not me. I wanted to go into Africa, Asia, other cultures, languages, [and] dangers,” he said.
- A statement from the Archdiocese of Denver noted that Archbishop James Golka and other bishops prayed for President Trump in the White House, and noted "continued conversation on the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death, and the God-given dignity of every person."
- Pope Leo XIV received in a private audience Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, the Belgian-born archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan Photo: Vatican Media The Vatican has also recalled the Holy See’s diplomatic representative in Iran, the Indian priest Sebastian Febin, who had been serving as chargé d’affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in the absence of a nuncio (ZENIT News / Vatican City, 03.12.2026).- As the Middle East faces a new phase of instability following military strikes on Iran, the head of the Catholic Church in the country has surfaced in Rome after days of uncertainty.
- Bishop Saporito said of his appointment: "I am deeply grateful and humbled that Pope Leo XIV has called me to serve as the Bishop of Metuchen. While it is not easy to leave the people and places that have formed and sustained me, I welcome this new mission with trust in the Holy Spirit. I look forward to meeting the priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of the Diocese, walking with them as we seek to follow Jesus Christ and bear witness to the hope of the Gospel."
- In addition to training to become a priest, he studied and later taught philosophy at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.