“Dearest Jesus, today, I give you this love letter,” said Monsignor Ken Leone in his final homily at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in April 2022.
In the poignant, emotional message to Christ that followed, Monsignor Leone expressed his gratitude for his time at the seminary.
“Lord, I want you to know my bags are packed; I am ready to go home with you. Thank you. Thank you for the wonderful gift of priesthood,” he continued.
Little did he know, that very homily would become the backbone for an effort to share his inspiring story of faith, service and compassion with the archdiocese.
John-Andrew O’Rourke, president of Blackstone Films, and Isaac Pritchard, a new friend of O’Rourke’s and a talented videographer in his own right, found themselves at the farewell Mass and reception because of a chance encounter and tip from O’Rourke’s pastor. Moved to tears by the heartfelt homily, O’Rourke was convinced that Monsignor’s story needed to be told.
“When somebody said they were going to make a movie, I just went into my heart to where Jesus was, and I said, ‘Lord, you know, you get all the honor and glory for this. I just want people to know that you have done so much — I never would have made it through those 50 years if you hadn’t been there to help me. I wouldn’t have ever made it through the Columbine tragedy and all the things that I encountered if it wasn’t for your help,’” Monsignor Leone recalled.
In the years that followed, the videographers paired up with Jim Beckman, a long-time friend of Monsignor Leone’s, and ImpactCenter, which Beckman and Monsignor co-founded. They garnered support for the film and interviewed dozens of Monsignor’s former parishioners.
Now, after a successful January premiere event, “Kenny” will soon become available around the archdiocese.
“I think it’s a beautiful celebration of his life, of his priesthood, and of the impact that he’s made in so many people’s lives,” Beckman told the Denver Catholic. “One of the things we really wanted to emphasize with this project was not just Monsignor Ken but Jesus, the power of the person of Christ and how he shows through the priest, where the priest literally is Jesus to people and the impact that that can have in people’s lives, their marriages and in their families, and just how beautiful that is.”
The film explores Monsignor Leone’s impact in Northern Colorado through the lens of his parishioners at Spirit of Christ in Arvada, Risen Christ in Denver and St. Frances Cabrini in Littleton. As parishioners shared story after story about the beloved priest and their interactions with him, the production team was blown away by just how much one person, especially a holy priest, can make a difference — even by simply loving the person in front of them well.
“With Monsignor, what he did was so simple,” O’Rourke shared. “He rooted himself in prayer, rooted himself in our Lord, and then just loved the people around him. That was it. That’s the secret sauce. It’s very inspiring to see how much of an impact radically following such a simple life plan made. It gives you an idea of not just the reach of one man, but it also gives you an idea of the impact of a priest, what a priest can do when he loves his priesthood and follows his call well. He can have this massive impact that goes beyond the boundaries of three parishes in Colorado.”
“He embodies the person of Christ and the charity of Christ in the way that he interacts with people and serves, loves and walks with them,” Beckman added, recalling the ways that Monsignor Leone has inspired and walked with him over the course of their long friendship. “He just is available and invites people to come and be together and experience difficult things together.”
And there was no shortage of “difficult things” for Monsignor Leone to accompany others through. From parishioners’ personal, marital or family challenges to shepherding his community through the Columbine tragedy, he is known for his close accompaniment of those Jesus brought his way.
“He wasn’t afraid to get into the mess of all of that and just be with us, not necessarily to fix it all, but just to walk with us and support us,” Beckman said. “He did that in a very similar way with the entire community when the Columbine shooting happened. What most people look back and remember during those two or three weeks after the shooting, I don’t know if anyone could point to a big thing that Father Ken did or said, but he was doing prayer services every single day. We were serving three meals a day to almost a thousand people. Everybody just came and lived at the parish.”
At the heart of everything that Monsignor Leone did and said is a profound love for Jesus Christ, with whom he is in constant conversation.
Recalling a visit to Monsignor Leone’s home, O’Rourke was struck by how seamlessly he would weave conversation with Jesus into their interaction. Even as he welcomed them inside, Monsignor turned to the tabernacle and said, “Hey Jesus, I brought some friends over!”
“The whole process gave me a deeper understanding of the word love, being around him because of the way that he interacts with the people around him, and then also the way that he interacts with our Lord,” O’Rourke said. “If Jesus is your beloved, then of course you’re going to want to talk to him all the time; you’re going to want to tell him everything, and you’re going to want to reminisce with him. And that’s what he would do. He talked about the Columbine shooting, one of the worst tragedies in the state of Colorado — in our country, honestly — and he turned to our Lord and said, ‘Remember how you helped me through that? Remember how we walked through that together?’ That’s what a conversation, an ongoing conversation with Jesus can look like.”
As the team prepares for a wider release of the impactful film, they hope that viewers will be inspired by the simplicity and approachability of Monsignor Leone’s example.
“The most impactful aspect of this story for me is the fact that, here is a man who loves Jesus and his footsteps are ones that I feel like I could follow,” O’Rourke continued. “I’m not saying that I’m there, but you can look at how he lived his life. You can look at how he loved Christ and loved other people and say, ‘You know what? I could aspire to that.’ So I hope what people take away is this idea that sanctity is possible, that a relationship with Jesus is possible. And when you pursue those things, the world changes.”
“I can tell you it is the most fantastic life,” Monsignor Leone said of his priesthood by way of conclusion. “I would choose it again in a heartbeat. No hesitation at all. Immediately.”
His one hope for the film? “Encourage vocations. Encourage vocations!”
