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Evergreen priest to share conversion on EWTN

The TV show that was once a source of inspiration for Father Dennis Garrou’s own conversion will now air his faith story next week.

Former Anglican priest convert Father Garrou will share his faith journey on EWTN’s “The Journey Home” 6 p.m. March 31 on Channel 12.

The show encouraged him to continue his pursuit of the Catholic faith that eventually led to his entry in the Church and ordination in May 2011 in the Denver Archdiocese.

“It showed me that people from various but similar backgrounds had made the journey into the Catholic faith,” he told the Denver Catholic Register. “I think it said my journey was something that I could pursue individually. The program came alongside with what I was experiencing in study, questioning and prayer.”

Father Garrou, chaplain at the Jefferson County Detention Facility and parochial vicar at Christ the King Church in Evergreen, became the first married Anglican priest to be ordained in the archdiocese.

Since Blessed Pope John Paul II’s pastoral provision, described as a document that reaches out to former Anglican and Episcopal pastors, 70-plus ordinations occurred in the United States.

Father Garrou’s own story began when he and his wife, Jill, made a trip to Italy in 2006. They toured the archaeological excavation site of Duomo, Milan’s cathedral, where St. Ambrose had baptized St. Augustine.

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He said he felt a connection to the saints and was struck by the connectivity of the church—one level dated to the fourth century and another to the 15th century.

“I had a realization from the Holy Spirit that this is the true Church,” he shared. “There was a linkage God wanted to establish for my own life.”

The more he studied the more he saw the connection of the Catholic faith with the apostles and early Christians.

Father Garrou’s journey continued when was moved by the teaching of the real presence of Christ—body, blood, soul and divinity—in the Eucharist, a belief absent from the Anglican Communion’s theology.

He said he related to a comment made on “The Journey Home”: Sometimes converts will realize they’re Catholic before they actually become Catholic.

“I had an interior sense that in my heart and in my head I made this step and now I have do something about it,” Father Garrou said.

Then Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput met with him in April 2008 to explore a conversion and path to the priesthood.

In December 2010 he was ordained to the diaconate by Apostolic Administrator Bishop James Conley and ordained a priest in May 2011 by Archbishop Chaput.

He has three adult children and lives in Evergreen with his wife.

More than five years after his ordination, he said his confidence in his decision has only strengthened.

Father Garrou said he sees the airing of his conversion as an opportunity to share his story to other Anglicans and Christians.

“My hope is to simply be an encouragement to them to follow through and pursue their journey to its conclusion,” he said.

‘The Journey Home’

Watch “The Journey Home” on EWTN Channel 12 to see Father Dennis Garrou’s testimony of his journey from former Anglican minister to Catholic priest.

When: 6 p.m. March 31, 11 p.m. April 1 and 11 a.m. April 4

Channel: Comcast Channel 233, DISH Network Channel 261

Visit: www.ewtn.com

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