Golka graduated from Creighton with philosophy and theology degrees. In 1989, he spent a year volunteering at a high school on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in what he called a test of his desire to become a priest.[2]
After his 1994 ordination, the diocese assigned Golka as associate pastor of St. James Parish in Kearney, Nebraska, and Holy Rosary in Alliance, Nebraska. Six years later, in 2000, the diocese appointed him as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and in 2006 as pastor of St. Patrick's Parish in North Platte, Nebraska.[3]In 2016, he became pastor of the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[2]
Golka's diocesan positions included:
director of ongoing formation of clergy
director of diocesan youth retreats
chair of the Federation of the liturgical commission
Pope Francis appointed Golka as bishop for the Diocese of Colorado Springs on April 30, 2021.[3][4][5] On June 29, 2021, Golka was consecrated at Holy Apostles Church in Colorado Springs by Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, with Bishops Joseph G. Hanefeldt, and Michael Sheridan serving as co-consecrators.[1]
In November 2022, after the mass shooting at the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs in which five people died, Golka expressed his concern that LGBTQ individuals were targeted by the shooter.[6]
