Many hailed 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo as a hero for trying to stop a shooter at his charter school just a few weeks before he was to graduate in May 2019.

But did the STEM School Highlands Ranch senior live a life of “heroic virtue,” before it was tragically ended by a gunman, who also injured eight people?

Two priests at St. Mark Catholic Church in Highlands Ranch, which is part of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, believe so.

And six years after Castillo was murdered, they’ve initiated a process that they hope will end with worldwide public recognition of how saintly his selfless actions were.

Rushing at the shooter and giving other kids time to move away from the gunfire — which was credited with preventing other fatalities — was consistent with the life the teen had been leading all along, said the Rev. Gregory Bierbaum, pastor at St. Mark.

“Ever since this happened in 2019, it’s been widely believed he was heroic,” he said. “Kendrick’s actions clearly saved lives.”

But instead of embarking on the rest of his life to study engineering in college that fall, Castillo was laid to rest at a botanical garden cemetery near Denver.

Bierbaum and the Rev. Patrick DiLoreto, parochial vicar at the parish, wondered if Castillo’s faith inspired him to in essence sacrifice his life for the sake of others, along the lines of Jesus Christ, the Christian savior.

The priests’ thoughts were confirmed after they conducted an investigation, which included interviewing Castillo’s parents John and Maria Castillo, who are members of St. Mark parish.

“He was a very pious young man. He loved his Catholic faith. He loved to pray. He loved to be of service to others,” DiLoreto said.

As a result, the priests have enacted the initial stages of the journey toward canonization, or sainthood, for Castillo in the Catholic church.

They recently submitted to the Rev. James Golka, bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs, a petition that if approved would jumpstart a lengthy, formal process.

Golka is “prayerfully considering the petition” for “cause for canonization,” according to the Colorado Springs diocese.

“This is a big deal,” Bierbaum said. “In the Catholic faith, saints are people who’ve lived a life of heroic virtue and/or died for their faith. They’re exemplars for all of us on how to live. Saints are real-world examples of what Jesus commanded us to do — live a virtuous life, put our lives second to others and evangelize.”

With the permission of Golka, Bierbaum has requested that Catholics who, of their own free will feel moved to do so, pray for Castillo’s intercession in matters they think are appropriate.

Believers who receive “any out-of-the-ordinary fruits,” such as physical healing or resolution of a difficult situation, are asked to contact the parish with their accounts, which could become part the case for possible sainthood.

“Jesus is always the actor — Jesus does the action of healing or whatever,” Bierbaum said. “It’s like if you were sick and asked me to pray for you. It’s like that with the saints.”

In the early Christian church and until the sixth century, sainthood was determined by public acclaim.

Local bishops then got involved with the process, and formal papal canonization started in the 10th century.

The church doesn’t give an exact number, but more than 10,000 men, women and children are thought to have attained sainthood. Of those, 942 were canonized by Pope Francis, who served from 2013 to his death in April of this year.

There are several paths to canonization. Martyrdom recognizes people who were killed “in hatred of the faith,” meaning their death was a direct result of their Christian beliefs. Heroic virtue acknowledges people who lived a life of exceptional Christian values such as charity and faith.

The late Pope Francis added another category in 2017 called “offering of life,” for people who “freely and voluntarily offer their life” in the face of “a certain and soon-to-come death,” out of love for others.

No canonizations have yet been declared under the newest category, although some cases that began being investigated before 2017 may qualify, according to the church.

Castillo’s death touched many who have worked hard to make sure he’s never forgotten.

His local community built the Kendrick Castillo Memorial in Civic Green Park in Highlands Ranch.

He has a street named after him, as Lucent Boulevard in Highlands Ranch was changed to Kendrick Castillo Way.

He received posthumously Fallen Hero awards. There’s a memorial scholarship fund in his honor, and FIRST Robotics Competition started an annual memorial tournament.

Whether the sad story of Kendrick Castillo turns into a beautiful story that people know worldwide may not be determined for a while.

The process usually takes a long time, Bierbaum said, decades or even centuries in some cases.

Bierbaum isn’t worried about whether the future includes a Saint Kendrick though. “That’s all up to God,” he said.

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