FATHER JOHN HILTON

I've been a Catholic priest for 33 years, come from a family of nine children and love this life to which God has called me!  For the past four years I’ve served as pastor of Saint Mary Parish, founded by silver miners and adventurers in 1882 in the heart of what is now the resort community of Aspen, Colorado.    Celebrating the Holy Mass and teaching the Faith are my greatest joys.

Another passion of mine is long-distance road cycling and for years I've dreamt of a coast-to-coast cycling adventure across the United States.  On June 2nd I begin my journey by dipping the rear wheel of my bike in the Pacific Ocean at Anacortes, Washington and seven weeks later will dip the front in the Atlantic at Bar Harbor, Maine.  My 4,000 mile route follows remote stretches of road through the northern tier of states close to the Canada border.  Every day I'll post some photos and a video reflection on the daily scripture readings, the people met, the places seen, the good moments and the difficult.  Priests have done this before but not many, so I invite you to share in my progress and keep me in your prayers.

The purpose of my ride is to spread awareness of the great things God is doing at Saint Mary's.  We're restoring our historic church and expanding our facilities.  We’re teaming up with religious orders and institutes across the United States to provide outstanding spiritual, theological and leadership formation for you, our parishioners and visitors to Aspen.  In addition to the skiing, mountaineering and cultural events, we're working to make this a powerful place to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ through dynamically orthodox conferences and seminars in service of the New Evangelization. We hope to see you in Aspen!

Priest: Father John Hilton