Denver Catholic

10 JUNE 25-JULY 8, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese FATHER DENNIS RYAN F ather Dennis Ryan laughed as he reminisced about why he became a priest. "I flunked the 4th grade, and my brothers were teasing me," he recalled. He started going to Mass regularly, and as he became more and more fond of priests, he remembers thinking, "I can do that!" Now, 50 years later, he has done "that," and much more. The Eucharist became quite meaningful to him over time, and he said his call to the priest- hood eventually "grew into another realm." Father Ryan served principally at Nativity of Our Lord in Broomfield, where he was pastor for 12 years. How- ever, Father Ryan also spent 37 of his 50 years of priesthood as a religion teacher at various Catholic schools, both in Denver and around the U.S. Of celebrating his 50th anniversary of being a priest, Father Ryan said, "It has been a blessing to celebrate the Eucharist with the people of God for over 50 years." The secret to his longevity, he said, is "The Eucharist, and, by the grace of God, Mary tugging on [the Lord's] sleeve and pointing to me and asking him to watch over this young, mid- dle-aged and now elderly priest! The road hasn't always been easy, but it has been 'fun' watching them lead through the years!" FATHER DAVID CROAK R aised in Wisconsin, Father David Croak lived in what he called "a Catholic ghetto" grow- ing up. His dad's sister was a nun and his mother's brother was a priest, so you could say religious vocations ran in his family. "The example of some younger priests influenced me," Father Croak said. "I went to Catholic schools all my life. When I was in grade school and high school, the schools were taught by nuns almost exclusively. They were always emphasizing the importance of being a priest." Father Croak began to wonder if Christ was calling him to the priesthood during his senior year of high school. "I went to seminary to find out. Gradually I became convinced that I had a vocation to the priesthood," he said. "I think I made the right decision," he added. "I'm thankful that I became a priest and made it 50 years." Father Croak served in various par- ishes around the archdiocese, including St. Joan of Arc, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Anne's in Arvada, St. Therese in Aurora and finally, St. Frances de Sales, where he served as pastor for 12 years. To the younger generation of priests, Father Croak o¦ered this: "I do think a prayer life is very important. Also, the beautiful thing about being a priest is whatever talent you have, you're able to use." During his priesthood, he looked to St. Teresa of Avila for reassurance of his vocation. "[She] said, 'Trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.' This thought helped sustain me in my priesthood." FATHER THOMAS WOERTH F ather Thomas Woerth is a priest constantly on the move. He had his hand in many dif- ferent ministries throughout his career, and established several programs that are still used around the archdiocese to this day, including the Engagement Encounter program. Father Woerth spent much of his priesthood working with high school and college-aged kids. He said that ini- tially, he would have been a Jesuit if he wanted to teach, but he ended up getting his teaching license while he was a priest, and teaching became a big part of what he did. "I obviously didn't have a good understanding of what [the priesthood] was all about," he said. Father Woerth started several moun- tain retreats for young adults. He also has a passion for theater, and while he served at parishes in both Boulder and Fort Collins, he directed pageants both for Christmas and Good Friday. His priesthood took him everywhere from the Pastoral Center to Colorado Springs to Fort Collins to Boulder, and he spent ten years of his career as a chaplain at the Veteran A¦airs Medical Center in Denver. Father Woerth retains fond memo- ries of each place he served. As for the new generation of priests, he o¦ers this advice: "You have to stick in there." Father Woerth said he was an active priest in an era when there was more emphasis on pastoral care and commu- nity, and he believes this is an important element of the Church's mission. "I had the opportunity to live in an era when I was able to form communi- ties in lots of ways," he said. FATHER VINCENT LEO SMITH F ather Leo Smith's advice to young priests stems from another priest he knew during his career, Father Hamlin: "Serve the people. Don't try to be popular." He says this with a smile, which is indicative of his kind and caring person- ality. Father Smith celebrates 50 years of priesthood this year, and he reminisced about why he became a priest in the first place. "In our time, we had wonderful par- ents who gave us a good example of the faith," Father Smith said. "They always spoke highly of priests. I think that had a certain impact." Throughout his priestly career, Father Smith served mainly at parishes located on the Western Slopes and Eastern Plains. His longest stretch at a parish was as pastor for 16 years at St. Joseph's in Akron, and his assignment there also included him being pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Yuma. Though he spent much of his ministe- rial career outside of Denver proper, one of his fondest memories as a priest came while he was assistant pastor of Christ the King in Denver. He said there used to be seven hospitals in that area, and he would often go visit the patients, who hailed from all over the U.S. due to some of the hospitals performing specialized medical procedures. Father Smith said doing this was very rewarding for him because it was an oppor- tunity to genuinely perform the work of a priest without getting anything in return. "You could do ministry or pastoral work with people who, in a way, could not really pay you back," he said. "We went over sometimes two or three times a day just because you did believe that was a necessary part of your priesthood and service to the people. It was rewarding in that sense." HONORING OUR SHEPHERDS: Celebrating our priests for their years of service 50 YEARS

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