Meet Fr. John Hilton, the “Pedaling Priest”

In just over a week, Fr. John Hilton will embark on a nearly 4000-mile bike ride across the United States.

When I first heard about this, I’ll admit I was mostly speechless. Now that it’s had a chance to sink in, I’m able to talk again, but I’m still amazed by the physical, mental, and spiritual effort he’s willing to share for his flock.

Fr. Hilton has been the pastor at St. Mary’s in Aspen, Colorado for four years. He’s been ordained for over 33 years, and I’d say, from my conversations with him, that he’s an example of how to approach your vocation and build the joy into it: the man always seems to have a smile in his voice!

And that serves him well. He is pastor, after all, to a community that almost prides itself on being above and beyond — and not limited by — religion. And yet, as he said in a recent interview, “I think there is great spirituality in Aspen. It’s a spirituality that understands beauty.”

When did you start biking as an enthusiast? Is it something you have always been interested in?

I started cycling a little over twenty years ago and discovered that I was very good at it! I love the outdoors, climbing in the mountains, and the solitary quiet which is a great way to recharge after the sometimes hectic life of a parish priest. I find cycling to be very prayerful and cannot even begin to guess how many Hail Marys I’ll be praying during the course of my summer journey.

How are you preparing for your ride across the nation? What challenges do you expect to be the greatest?

I’ve been preparing over the long winter months that we experience here in Aspen by going a couple of times every week to an indoor spinning class. In addition, I ‘skin’ up Ajax Mountain, which is the highest and steepest ski slope in the area. Skinning is uphill skiing which is made possible by attaching to the bottom of the skis artificial skins (the Eskimos used animal skins) which grip the snow and keep me from sliding back down the slope. It is an intense and very beautiful form of exercise that allows me to experience the mountains in the early morning before sunrise.

Lately I’ve also been going on longer bike rides in the area in order to get used to the many hours in the saddle that are required each day.

Will you have a certain playlist in your earbuds? What will entertain you as you ride, or do you soak in the scenery and concentrate on the work?

I never listen to anything while on my bike. I love the silence, pray many Hail Mary’s, and sing to myself. It’s quite prayerful and the time passes surprisingly quickly.

Your response to the secular culture has been rather radical. What inspired you to “take on” popular culture in the way you have?

As Catholics, we can’t give in to the secular currents surrounding us! We really are engaged in a battle for souls and we can’t abandon the battlefield to the secular forces which are so powerful right now. I love Aspen and desire Jesus Christ to be at the heart of our family and community life. Aspen is also an important place that influences the larger culture in which we all live in subtle but rather dramatic ways. Where places like Aspen are today, the larger culture is likely to be in ten or twenty years.

We love Jesus Christ, we love our Catholic faith, and so each of us must stay engaged. As the pastor of St. Mary’s in Aspen, I have the obligation to maintain in our people a strong witness to the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. This can only happen when the Catholics of my parish are filled with a love for their Savior and a strong knowledge of their Catholic Faith.

The idea for a Catholic Institute is a response to the need for the Church to form in her people strong hearts and minds equipped for the New Evangelization. This Institute is, we believe, a powerful way in which our little parish can serve the larger Church in the United States.

What do you hope people take away from the news that you’re biking around 4000 miles?

Hope and encouragement! I pray that people who are aware of the Pedaling Priest will ask themselves this question: “If some sixty-year-old priest can ride his bike across the country for Jesus Christ, what extraordinary thing is my Savior asking me to do for Him and His Church?”

Gone are the days when Catholics [could] sit on the sidelines waiting for priests and nuns to do what must be done for Christ and the salvation of souls. Each Catholic must ask God to show them the work that only they can do for Him.

As Catholics we must be convinced down to our bones that the role of the priest is to make holy the things on the altar and my role, as a Catholic in the world, to make holy the things of the world.

You can read more about this exciting project on our Avila to Aspen page and follow Fr. Hilton’s updates, which we’ll be posting each day that he’s able to send them (which we hope is every day of his trip!).

How you can help support Avila to Aspen:

• Make a pledge per mile or a matching gift pledge.
• Pray for our efforts, especially for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Teresa of Avila.
• Tell others about this effort. Share it on social media, email your friends and family, and talk to those in your life about it.

Photos of Fr. John Hilton used with permission. Logo designed by Suzanne Hurtig.