Catholic Military Life

This year U.S. Catholics have an opportunity to contribute to a special collection at Sunday Mass for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, the AMS Chancellor, Father Robert R. Cannon, Ch, Col, USAF (Ret.), whose home Diocese of Venice, FL, takes up the collection the weekend of May 14-15, 2022, shares...

As one of senior clergy on staff at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), the Judicial Vicar, Father Mark Rutherford, J.C.L., recently experienced first-hand the impact of a growing shortage of Catholic U.S. Military chaplains. In the week leading up to Easter, he filled in for a recently deployed priest at Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. In this edition of Catholic Mil...

Russia's attempt to take over Ukraine strikes a familiar note with Father Vincent Woo, a priest of the Diocese of Hong Kong who is currently serving in the Tribunal of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, while purusing a doctorate in canon law. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese, Father Woo shares his experience of the Chinese takeov...

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) offers military families as well as the general public a way to help Ukrainians withstand the ongoing Russian invasion. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Ms. Megan Gilbert, CRS Communications Officer, shares what CRS is doing to provide humanitarian relief and how you can help.

Among freedoms Ukraine is fighting the Russians for is the freedom to exercise religion. U.S. and NATO troops stand ready to join the fight if called upon. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Ukranian Catholic Archbishop Borys Gudziak of Philadelphia shares what's at stake.

February 2022 marks the 79th anniversary of the heroic deaths of the Four Chaplains, ministers of different faiths and denominations who gave up their life vests to fellow soldiers on board the SS Dorchester as it sank in the North Atlantic after a German submarine torpedoed the troop transport ship with more than 900 aboard. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought more U.S. troops to Europe where they remain on high alert. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Auxiliary Bishop William (Bill) Muhm, Vicar for Europe and Asia, visits Washington, D.C., from his home base in Germany, talks about the impact on Catholics who serve, and shares...

The Military Council of Catholic Women (MCCW) is inviting Catholic women with a connection to the U.S. Armed Forces to take part in its Forum 2022 April 21-24 in Tampa, FL. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, MCCW President Kim Miller and Forum Director Aly Tugaoen tell us what's in store for those who participate.

As Vocations Director of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), Father S. Matthew Gray has his work cut out for him. He is responsible for shepherding young men discerning a vocation to the Catholic priesthood and U.S. Military chaplaincy at a time when active-duty priests are in extreme short supply. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, F...

The Knights of Columbus recently published the 6th edition of Armed With the Faith, an almost indestructible prayer book for active-duty personnel to carry wherever they go, even in the heat of battle. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, nurse Megan Gabauer shares how the prayer book helps bring healing to wounded...

In June 2021, retired U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Patrick E. Kelly, Esq., was installed as Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus (K of C). In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), Mr. Kelly joins us by telephone from K of C headquarters in New Haven, CT, to share his vision for a vast, growing internation...

Unlike other Catholic U.S. dioceses, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), spans the globe, shepherding U.S. Military members wherever they go. Noone knows better than Ms. Victoria Kaczmarek, whose job it is to support the year-round travel of Archbishop Timothy Broglio's four auxiliary bishops. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, Ms. Ka...

Father Richard Erikson, Ch, Brig Gen, USAF (Ret), recently teamed up with Country and Western singer/songwriter Jay Clementi to compose a song about U.S. Military chaplains. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Erikson joins us to listen to the song, "Born to Bless the Fallen," and tell how the song came abou...

Father Daniel J. Swartz, CHC, LT, USN, was with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at the Kabul airport on Aug. 26 when a suicide bomber attacked, killing 13 American military members and many civilians who were trying to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Fathe...

The homecoming of Father Emil Kapaun, Servant of God, to the Diocese of Wichita, KS, last month was greeted with the hero's welcome he deserved, 70 years after his death in a North Korean Prisoner-of-War Camp. Auxiliary Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), was among those present and shares his experience in this edition of Catholic Military Life, the...

Like other branches of the U.S. Military, the Air Force is in sore need of more Catholic priests to go on active duty as chaplains. Father Robbie Deka, Ch, Capt, USAF, is a chaplain recruiter for the Air Force. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Deka explains how serious the shortage is, and what he's doing...

The Knights of Columbus and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), will resume their annual Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage in May of 2022 following a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The dates for the upcoming Pilgrimage are May 10-16, 2022. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the AMS, Colonel Chuck Gallina, USMC (Ret.), explains w...

The Aug. 26, 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport hit close to home for Father Daniel Lorimer, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, KS, and former U.S. Army chaplain. From February to October 2014, Father Lorimer served in Afghanistan, hopscotching by helicopter between Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to bring the sacraments to U.S. servicemen and women on the front lines. In the Aug. 30 editio...

The televised images of the U.S. Military airlift of refugees from Afghanistan are strangely familiar to Catholic former Congressman Anh (Joseph) Cao of Louisiana. When he was a boy of only eight, he fled his native Vietnam to start life anew without parents in America, went on to graduate from Baylor University with a degree in physics and spent six years as a Jesuit seminarian before becoming a...

On Sept. 7, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., Archbishop Timothy Broglio will celebrate the annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue Northeast, in Washington, D.C. EWTN will televise the Mass live across North America. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast...

The First Amendment right to free exercise of religion is alive and well in the U.S. Military despite ongoing cases and controversies. That's the encouraging assessment of Mr. Daniel Blomberg, Esq., Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He elaborates in this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

COVID-19 has taken a steep toll on the Catholic War Veterans (CWV) of the USA and its Auxiliary. Between March 2020 and July 2021, the veteran service organization lost more than 300 of its eight-thousand members at a time when membership, once boasting 50,000, was already in steady decline. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Se...

Since 2014, 65 men have entered seminary to become Catholic U.S. Military chaplains, and so far 38 have been ordained priests, nine have gone on active duty, and another 24 will go on active duty over the next three years with more on the way. Those strong numbers are thanks in large part to Father Aidan Logan, O.C.S.O., who soon leaves his role as Vocations Director for the Archdiocese for the Mi...

Learning about the Catholic faith can be fun for children and teens on the portal, AMS Family Witness to Christ. The portal, powered by Catholicbrain.com, provides games, puzzles, videos, songs, and other innovative and interactive tools to attract and hold the interest of students in grades pre-K through 12. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese f...

Father Jason E. Hesseling, CH (MAJ), USA, was recently awarded the U.S. Army Order of St. Martin of Tours Chaplaincy Award for his service to the Catholic community at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. The award is given to a chaplain or religious affairs specialist who has demonstrated "the highest standards of integrity and moral character," displayed "an outstanding degree of profes...