This month, the Archdiocese of Denver honors Mary Machado, who passed into eternal life on June 24, 2026, after a short battle with pancreatic cancer, as our Disciple of the Month. For the nearly four decades Mary lived in Denver, she poured her life out in faithful service to her family, her homeschool community and the priests and seminarians of the archdiocese — building up the Body of Christ one gathering, one meal, one mended cassock at a time.

Mary was born in Boise, Idaho, in 1964, the first of David and Cecilia Lodzinski’s four children. Her family moved often throughout her childhood, and it was in those years (first in Idaho, later in New Mexico, Virginia and Oregon) that the seeds of her Catholic faith took root. She met her husband, Rick, the summer she arrived in Oregon to finish high school, and the two were married in 1985 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Vale. After earning degrees from Gonzaga University and Ball State University, Mary and Rick settled in Denver in 1988, expecting only a brief stay on their way back west. Denver became their home for the next 38 years, and the place where they raised their four children: David, Father Jacob, Leah and Joseph.

Mary was, by nature, a teacher, and the world was her classroom. Her father had passed on to her a love of botany and the outdoors, and Mary, in turn, shared it with her own children through visits to the Denver Botanic Gardens and family road trips to national parks. In a eulogy shared at her vigil, her son David reflected that because Mary chose to homeschool her children, the family had far more time together than they otherwise would have, a gift for which he said they remain eternally grateful. Much of what she taught, though, went beyond formal lessons. Though she never sat her children down for cooking instruction, all four grew up capable in the kitchen, having absorbed her knack for preparing delicious meals for the family.

She also expanded the Catholic homeschool network in the archdiocese, organizing field trips, feast day celebrations and gatherings that wove the liturgical year into the daily rhythm of family life. Her own home reflected that same devotion, moving with the Church’s seasons from Easter Vigil to All Saints, O Antiphons to Midnight Mass, creating a true domestic church.

Mary’s care extended well beyond her own household. She had a particular passion for helping young mothers with breastfeeding, often arriving early to community gatherings to lend her support to women navigating the challenges of new motherhood. She kept up an active presence on Catholic homeschooling forums, sharing resources, book lists and ideas for living the faith at home, helping families beyond her own parish encounter the joy she found in raising children immersed in the Catholic faith. It is conservatively estimated that Mary touched the lives of over 8,000 new mothers in her more than 35 years of providing breastfeeding support.

Some of Mary’s most meaningful work happened away from the spotlight. She supported the Servants of Christ Jesus in ways many never saw: ironing linens, mending cassocks and helping prepare their feast day celebrations. She served priests and seminarians at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver and throughout the archdiocese, welcoming them into her home for dinner, praying daily for their vocations and finding thoughtful ways to encourage them, from St. Nicholas bags to spiritual bouquets offered during their retreats. Long before her own son was ordained, Mary had already given her heart to the formation of priests. That devotion came full circle on May 11, 2024, when her son Jacob was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Denver.

In her final years, Mary delighted in becoming an “Amuma” (the Basque word for grandmother, a tribute to her own Basque heritage) to her granddaughters. Even in her final days, family remembers that she carried her suffering with remarkable strength and peace, her thoughts turned more toward those she cared for rather than herself.

Mary’s funeral Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated by her son, Father Jacob Machado, and drew more than 50 priests, deacons and seminarians, alongside a cathedral filled with the Catholic and homeschool families whose lives she had touched. In his homily, Father Jacob spoke honestly of his grief, even as he pointed the congregation toward the hope that carried his mother home: that for those who belong to Christ, death is not an end but a passage into life.

Mary Machado’s life stands as a testament to what it looks like when one woman gives herself fully in service — to her husband of 41 years, to her children, grandchildren and family, and to a Church she loved enough to serve in ways both seen and unseen. For all of these reasons, Mary has been named this month’s Disciple of the Month.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.

Do you know someone who is an exceptional steward? Nominate them here, and they could become the next Disciple of the Month!

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