The Catholic Patriotic Minute #37: Kendrick Castillo
Catholics For Catholics Special Edition | March 16th, 2026
Kendrick Castillo: Hero at Colorado School Shooting and Possible Saint
The night before Christ’s crucifixion, Christ told his disciples, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Just as Christ laid down His life for us, an eighteen-year- boy named Kendrick Castillo laid down his own life to save his fellow students from a school shooter on May 7, 2019. Because the Holy See added a new category– the “offering of life” – for the cause of canonization, Kendrick Castillo may become a saint one day.
In Denver, Colorado, Kendrick was born on March 14, 2001, a birthdate he shared with Albert Einstein. He was an only child and extremely close to his parents John and Maria Castillo. His passions and interests involved robotics, fishing, hunting, computers, cars, and off-roading. His father later recounted Kendrick always wanted to work in aerospace at NASA.
Kendrick was an altar server and regularly attended Knights of Columbus meetings and events at Notre Dame Parish with his father. John listed Kendrick’s values as “patriotism, faith, [and] his love for humanity.”
For Kendrick, the day of May 7, 2019, was only three days away from graduation. In the fall, he was supposed to attend Arapahoe Community College, with the aim of studying mechanical or electrical engineering.
May 7, 2019, was a Tuesday. Kendrick attended STEM School Highlands Ranch. His close friend, Charles Burroughs Jr., gave a glimpse into Kendrick’s prior moments before his death. The two friends had lunch in Kendrick’s Jeep. Both Charles and Kendrick had a love for Jeeps. They often worked on their cars together and went off-roading. After lunch, Kendrick went to his English class.
Two students arrived at campus with guns hidden. One of the two, Devon Erickson, entered Kendrick’s English classroom and ordered everyone not to move. Without pause, Kendrick charged at Erickson. Erickson open-fired. Nui Giasolli, a witness to Kendrick’s murder, reported that once Erickson pulled out his gun “Kendrick Castillo lunged” and “was shot in the process.” She stated, “Kendrick’s actions allowed her and the rest of the class time to get underneath their desks or run across the room to escape.”
While most students took cover, two other students–Brendan Bialy and Joshua Jones–also charged at the shooter and were able to detain him. Bialy and a teacher, Mike Pritchard, attempted to save Kendrick with chest compressions once Pritchard could not find a pulse. But, Kendrick passed away.
Kendrick’s father, John Castillo, later explained that he had discussed with Kendrick what to do in an active shooter scenario. John told his son that he did not “have to be a hero,” but Kendrick disagreed with his father. He responded to his father, “You raised me this way. You raised me to be a good person. That’s what I’m doing.”
Because of Kendrick’s act of courage and love for his fellow classmates, only eight were injured and no one else died. His friend Aaron Busche stated, “[t]he way he died was very much in his nature.” He explained, “He was not afraid to stand up for what he thought was right.”
Kevin Cole, one of Kendrick’s friends, said, “Kendrick was one of the nicest people at that school by far. . . He always helped others whether he knew them or not. He didn’t have a secret motive … It didn’t matter if he knew them personally, if they were new students he was always that person who was there to help.”
His friend, Cece Bedard, described Kendrick as “the bravest soul [she’d] ever met and never even cared what others thought because he was too busy finding ways to make you smile.” She said, “He told me he wanted to be a Knights of Columbus because he wanted to help not only people, but his community.” Posthumously, Kendrick became a Brother Knight.
On May 17, Kendrick Castillo’s family, friends, and eighty Knights of Columbus honored his life at his funeral at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Littleton, Colorado. During his homily, Bishop Jorge Rodríguez spoke of Kendrick as a “young man who was a good disciple of Jesus Christ. We call ‘saints’ those able to love to the end. Kendrick gave everything he is, and everything he had -family, a future, a degree, his life- so other young men and women could go back to their families, have a future, graduate and live.”
In July 2025, Bishop James Golka of the Diocese of Colorado Springs announced that a petition to open the cause for canonization of Kendrick Castillo was received. He stated, “Although I have just begun to review the information submitted, it seems clear that Kendrick was an exceptional young man. . . I ask all the faithful to keep Kendrick’s family in their prayers. I also encourage everyone to privately invoke Kendrick’s intercession, praying especially for the youth in our diocese, that they emulate his example of fortitude and generosity.”
Father Gregory Bierbaum and Father Patrick DiLoreto of St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch were both individually reflecting on Kendrick’s life in prayer for months before discovering their shared reflections. They both believed the Holy Spirit was calling for them to ask their diocese to open the cause of his canonization. In fact, they have researched and interviewed witnesses of his life to build their case.
Father DiLoreto attested to Kendrick’s pursuit of being Christlike, calling him “a pious young man who cared deeply for his faith and desired to be a witness of the faith for others, especially those who had never encountered Our Lord.” He also had a special love for his Blessed Mother, as he, according to Father DiLoreto, “always carried his rosary with him — seeing how well-worn the rosaries were, it can also be inferred that he used them frequently. He had one of his rosaries on him when he was murdered.”
The way Kendrick lived and died is the way all Catholics are called to live, that is, to love and serve selflessly, without expecting anything in return. Kendrick Castillo, pray for us, that we may love just as you loved, just as Christ loves.
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