The Catholic Church is considering 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo for sainthood, after he was killed while heroically protecting classmates during a 2019 school shooting in Colorado.
According to the National Catholic Register, the Diocese of Colorado Springs, which oversees the area where the tragedy occurred, has formally received a petition to open Castillo’s cause for canonisation.
Father Patrick DiLoreto of St Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch told Fox News that Castillo’s sacrifice may qualify under Pope Francis’s "Offering of Life" category. This recognises people who give their lives for love of God and neighbour, even outside traditional definitions of martyrdom.
"He courageously threw himself at one of the school shooters without hesitation, allowing other students to follow and subdue the gunman," DiLoreto said. "This saved the lives of his fellow classmates when, in any other circumstance, there would surely have been more deaths on that day."
The two shooters, Devon Erickson, who was 18 at the time, and his accomplice Alex McKinney, then 16, stormed into the British literature class as students watched The Princess Bride at the end of the school year.
Castillo and his classmates, Joshua Jones and Brendan Bialy, rushed Erickson, whose weapon jammed after four shots. Tragically, Castillo was fatally shot during the struggle, but his actions gave his classmates the chance to disarm the attackers.
Erickson was later convicted on 46 counts, including first-degree murder, and faces life in prison without parole. McKinney pleaded guilty, testified against him, and could be eligible for parole in 20 years.