Samuel J. Aquila

Samuel Joseph Aquila (September 24, 1950–) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the fifth archbishop of Denver.

Quotes

• When you abandon God, the only thing left is yourself, and when you remove God from the equation, what is the reason for any altruism, any sense of the other? How do I really care for people if I do not believe in a God? The whole approach of a secular culture and liberal culture is to focus on my own pleasure and what’s in it for me. So we see young people very easily moving in and out of relationships, without much thought or meaning, and then they cannot understand why they are so unhappy.
  • The Universal Call to Holiness (August 8, 2011)

• I like to challenge the faithful to grow in holiness and become saints. When I give a confirmation homily to children, I ask them, “Are you called to be saints?” It is amazing that a number of them say no. The adults in attendance look stunned by the question. I then tell them we are all called to holiness, and we are all called to be saints. Vatican II teaches this; Christ tells us this in the Gospels.
  • An Interview with the Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila (April 9, 2015)