Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila to Deliver 2023 Commencement Address

Wyoming Catholic College is pleased to announce this year’s commencement speaker: Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver. The event, which will celebrate the academic achievements of the members of the Class of 2023, will take place on Monday, May 15, 2023, at 10:30AM. The Archbishop will also be the celebrant at the Baccalaureate Mass, held at 4:00 pm on Sunday, May 14, 2022.

“We have great respect and appreciation for His Excellency’s work on behalf of the Church and of Catholics in this part of the country, in particular,” said President Glenn Arbery. “His commitment to Catholic education is deep and abiding, as is clear from his time serving as Assistant Secretary and then Secretary for Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Denver for eight years, before being named the first rector of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary when it was founded in 1999. The Archdiocese has made great strides in the area of Catholic education under his leadership, and I know that our students will benefit greatly from his remarks. We are grateful for the opportunity to host the Archbishop here in Lander, and greatly look forward to his visit.”

The Archbishop, who became head of the Denver archdiocese in 2012, has been a strong friend and supporter of the College for many years, hosting informational and fundraising events at his residence in Denver, sending representatives of the Seminary of St. John Vianney to Lander to encourage the College’s students to consider priestly vocations, and, most recently, ordaining the College’s first alumnus priest, Father Trevor Lontine, as a priest in the Archdiocese of Denver.