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IN THIS ISSUE
From the Desk of
Fr. John Madigan, O.M.I.
Oblate Feature
Our Woven Past: Oblate Paths to Sainthood
The Lives of the Saints: St. Ambrose
At one time Bill and Jeannie Ritter lived in a tiny apartment in the African nation of Zambia that was routinely infested with mosquitoes and bats. Today they live in the Governor’s Mansion in Denver, Colorado.
Their journey from Oblate lay missionaries in Zambia to the First Family of Colorado is filled with faith, love and a little divine intervention.
Early Years
Bill Ritter was born in 1956, the sixth of 12 children, in the town of Aurora, Colorado. Every Sunday the family attended Queen of Peace Catholic Church, run by the Missionary Oblates.
When Ritter was 13 years old his father, who was an alcoholic, abandoned the family. The Oblate priests at Queen of Peace Parish became like foster parents to the young teenager. After graduating from junior high the Oblates gave Bill a scholarship to attend their St. Anthony High School Seminary located in San Antonio, Texas.
“Bill was a good student but what I remember most about his
time at St. Anthony’s was that he was excellent on the debate
team and already had well-tuned leadership skills,” says Fr. Bill
Morell, O.M.I. who taught history at the school.
Ritter credits his experience on the debate team for sparking his interest in becoming an attorney. He left St. Anthony’s after two years and returned to Colorado to finish high school. He was a member of the football team. His future wife Jeannie was a cheerleader. They began dating their senior year.
After graduating from the University of Colorado Law School in 1981, Bill went to work as a deputy district attorney in Denver. At this time Jeannie taught special education classes at a Denver high school.
In 1982 Jeannie joined the Peace Corps and spent a year working in the North African country of Tunisia. She helped to build educational and vocational centers for people with disabilities.
When Jeannie returned to the United States she and Bill were married. The celebrant was Fr. Ron Walker, O.M.I. Bill’s former pastor and high school teacher. Bill was a rising star in the district attorney’s office and Jeannie took a job as a flight attendant with Continental Airlines. Their first son, Augie, was born in 1986.
The Ritters appeared to be a young family with everything. But then they made a decision that drastically changed their lives, much to the surprise of everyone who knew them.
Divine Intervention
In 1987 Fr. Bill, now in a leadership role for the Oblates, received a letter from a bishop in Zambia looking for a lay missionary couple to run a nutrition center in the impoverished rural community of Mongu.
There were several Oblate lay missionaries in
Zambia at the time, but no married couples in the
program. So Fr. Bill 
reluctantly asked his secretary to
type a letter to the bishop saying he was unable to
honor his request. Just then he got a phone call.
“Out of the blue it was Bill Ritter on the other end and he said he and Jeannie wanted to be lay missionaries,” said Fr. Bill. “I immediately told my secretary to stop typing and tear up that letter.”
After a few months of training, the Ritters, including one-year-old Augie, were on a plane for Zambia.
One With the Poor
Zambia was a turning point in the lives of the Ritters. They worked with the poorest of the poor, helping them to overcome debilitating poverty.
“Every month we trucked more than 60 tons of food 400 miles from the capital city to our depot in Mongu,” said Bill Ritter. “From there we distributed food deep into the sub-Saharan bush. We started poultry, fishery and community-building programs. We taught women the importance of good nutrition and food preparation for their families. And as AIDS began to spread across Africa, we taught basic health care.”
Father Bill visited the Ritters every year in Zambia.
He watched them develop their leadership skills
and take on more and more responsibility.
“They knew everybody over there and everybody loved them,” said Fr. Bill.
Several Oblates were working in Zambia along with the Ritters, running parishes, schools and a variety of social service agencies. Father Ron Walker, O.M.I. the priest who witnessed the marriage of Bill and Jeannie, was assigned to Zambia and eventually became the superior of the Oblate delegation there. Father Paul Duffy, O.M.I. one of the founders of the Oblate Zambia Missions and Ritter’s debate coach in high school, welcomed his former student to the missions. He is now the Bishop of the Mongu region.
“Despite overwhelming poverty and despair, the Zambian people show incredible strength, hope and grace,” Bill Ritter recalls. “I gained a deep appreciation for the frailty of the human condition. I also learned valuable lessons about listening to people, understanding their struggles, and walking with them toward a better tomorrow.”
Back in Colorado
Within a few weeks of their return from Zambia in 1990, Bill Ritter was offered a job at the U.S. Attorney’s office in Denver. Just three years later he was appointed by the governor to be Denver’s District Attorney. Jeannie worked in the Denver public school system as an elementary school substitute teacher specializing in classrooms for emotionally disturbed children.
For 12 years Bill Ritter worked as Denver’s District Attorney, gaining a reputation as an effective and innovative prosecutor. As his reputation grew Ritter was encouraged to run for public office. In 2006 he was elected Governor.
On the day of his inauguration the Ritter family attended Mass. The celebrant that day was his old mentor and friend, Fr. Bill Morell, O.M.I. During his homily Fr. Bill repeated the phrase “Mind the Gap,” speaking of the importance of bridging the gaps between one’s faith and practice, between words and deeds, between public life and family commitments, between the rich and the poor ... a gap of particular importance for a governor working for social justice.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what both Bill and Jeannie have accomplished in Africa and Colorado,” said Fr. Bill. “To go from Zambia to becoming the Governor and First Lady of Colorado. What a privilege to be with them on that amazing journey.”