Catholic Military Life

Is it a virtue to endure hardship without complaint? The Stoics of Ancient Greece certainly thought so. In her new book, "Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience," Dr. Nancy Sherman, a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and former holder of the inaugural Chair in Ethics at the U.S. Naval Academy, cites evidence the practice of stoicism can actually help treat a condition...

Since 2004, the Knights of Columbus have funded publication of "Armed with the Faith," a Catholic prayerbook specifically for Catholics in the U.S. Military. The pocket-size, water-resistant prayerbook (shown on the desk in the photo) is designed for use anywhere those who serve may find themselves, whether in the relative safety of a home base or port, or in the field or high seas of battle. "Arm...

While in High School, the Reverend Mr. Jason Allan thought he would become an engineer, but God had other plans. In May of 2021, he will be ordained a priest of the Diocese of Fort Worth, TX, with plans of eventually becoming an active-duty U.S. Navy Chaplain. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, the Rev. Mr. Allan...

With active-duty chaplains in short supply, the U.S. Navy has recruited a reservist to serve as 3rd Battalion chaplain at the U.S. Naval Academy. Father Paul Kostka, CHC, LT, USN, came to Annapolis from Denver, CO, in October 2020 to begin a one-year assignment. Before his tour at the Naval Academy, Father Kostka served in support of the 3rd Marine Expedition at the Navy Reserve Center in Denver,...

New York Times bestselling author Joe Drape is out with a new book called The Saint Makers. It explores how the Holy See's Congregation for the Causes of Saints goes about deciding who gets to be a saint, focusing heavily on the current case of Korean War hero, U.S. Army Chaplain, and Medal of Honor recipient Father Emil Kaupan (1916-1951). The rich and unique narrative leads from the plains of Ka...

Two weeks after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the National Guard was called in to keep order during the inauguration of President Joseph Biden. Father Michael Zimmer, Ch, Capt, USAF, a chaplain in the Nebraska Air National Guard, was among those deployed to the Nation's Capital. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the...

Father Alejandro De Jesus is the new president of the National Conference of Veterans Affairs Catholic Chaplains (NCVACC). He works full time at the San Antonio VA Medical Center and succeeds Father R. Peter Francis as NCVACC president. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father De Jesus joins us by telephone from...

In Nigeria on Dec. 27, 2020, thugs wielding semi-automatic rifles kidnapped Auxiliary Bishop Moses Chikwe of Owerri and his driver, Mr. Ndubuisi Robert. Bishop Chikwe is a former chaplain at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, CA. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Bishop Chikwe shares...

Seminarian Patrick DiLoreto discovered his military calling before he did his priestly vocation. Through the ROTC program at the University of Northern Colorado, he joined the Colorado National Guard at the end of his freshman year in 2012, inspired in part by the influence of an older brother who served in the U.S. Army and deployed to Afghanistan while Mr. DiLoreto was still in high school. But...

Meet Father Joseph M. Fleury, CH (COL), USA. At 69, he is the oldest active-duty chaplain in the U.S. Military. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Fleury traces his extraordinary 32-year career in the Army, recapping tours in Korea, Panama and elsewhere, and he shares how his 2005 deployment to war-torn Afg...

Father Mark Bristol, CHC LT, USN, is one of four U.S. Navy chaplains assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theordore Roosevelt (CVN-71), and the only Catholic priest. Father Bristol was on board in late March when an outbreak of COVID-19 sidelined the Roosevelt at Guam for more than two months during a deployment to the Western Pacific. Ultimately, more than 1,200 sailors were infected--about 25% o...

Mr. Armando Herrera majored in pre-medicine while going through the ROTC program at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), hoping one day to become a doctor in the U.S. Army. While finishing up his degree, though, Mr. Herrera began to explore life's deeper meaning. He discerned God's call to the priesthood and military chaplaincy. Now, Mr. Herrera, 27, is immersed in priestly formation at Theologi...

Mr. Liam O'Shea-Creal, 25, grew up in Lincoln, NE, just two blocks from his Catholic parish. Although he went to a Catholic school and was active as an altar server, he had no intention of becoming a priest. Not until after he went to college at the University of Nebraska. There, as a student majoring first in business and then psychology, he began to discern a vocation. Now, Mr. O'Shea-Creal is i...

Jesus Christ tells us in John 15:13 that "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." In World War Two, Father Joseph Verbis Lafleur (1912-1944) of Ville Platte, LA, a chaplain lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, lived out the meaning of that message. He died on a Japanese prisoner-of-war transport ship mistakenly torpedoed by a U.S. submarine off the coast of...

The Annual Pilgrimage for the Sea Services will be celebrated on Oct. 4, 2020, at 3:30 p.m. EDT at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 339 South Seton Avenue, in Emmitsburg, MD. The principal celebrant and homilist will be the Most Reverend Joseph L. Coffey, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Bishop Coffey is a retired U.S. Navy chaplain. Because of soc...

When he finished law school at Pepperdine University and passed the bar exam, Bradley D. Easterbrooks embarked on a career in the U.S. Navy as a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. But God had other plans for the active-duty lieutenant. When Bradley discerned a priestly vocation, he put his military legal career on hold and entered seminary. He is now completing formation at the Po...

Korean War hero and U.S. Army Chaplain Father Emil Kapaun died on May 23, 1951, in a North Korean Prisoner of War (POW) camp. He had spent the previous six months risking his life to sustain and save the lives of fellow prisoners with no concern for his own health and safety. In 2013, then-President Obama postumously awarded Father Kaupan the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoratio...

On July 16, 2020, Father Mark Rutherford, J.C.L., a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, MI, took office as Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). In that role, Father Rutherford will oversee the archdiocesan Tribunal, which, among other judicial functions, rules on the validity or nonvalidty of marriages based on canon law. In this edition of Catholic Military Life,...

Like nearly all U.S. educators, Catholic catechists in the U.S. Military have had to unleash creativity this year in their ministry of teaching the Catholic faith to children and young people from grades Pre-K through 12. Taking advantage of shelter-in-place orders due to COVID-19, Mr. Jose Amaya, Director of Faith Formation for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), is holding a se...

Father Piotr Koziolkiewicz, CH (CPT), USA, finds balance between the physical and the spiritual. While not hearing confessions, administering other sacraments, or celebrating Mass for Catholics of the 589th Brigade Support Battalion at Grafenwöhr, Germany, he runs and bikes incredible distances. He stays active not only to stay in shape but also to serve as an example to the soldiers and their fam...

In the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, Pope Francis calls on the Church to consider refreshing the ways she can accompany young people. Accordingly, the Evangelization Office of the Archdiocese for the Military Services will hold a Young Adult Ministry Symposium Aug. 6-9 in Silver Spring, MD, just outside the nation's capital. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podc...

From the COVID-19 pandemic to the spread of racial tensions over alleged police brutality, the year 2020 so far has brought a trove of troubles. But amid all the uncertainty and social disruption, Catholics serving in the U.S. Military have reasons to celebrate. A record eighteen young men are being ordained this year in hopes of becoming military chaplains, offering hope for relief to a chronic s...

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Military Catholics have cause for celebration this year. Seventeen young men who are on track to become military chaplains will be ordained. That’s the largest class of chaplain candidates in recent memory. Eight will be ordained priests and nine, transitional deacons in preparation for priestly ordination next year. The bumper harvest promises some relief t...

New York's veteran population, situated at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in America, has been hit hard since the outbreak in early March. Father Andrew Sioleti knows first-hand. As Chief of Chaplains at the VA's New York Harbor Healthcare Sytem, Father Sioleti has had his hands full, anointing the sick, hearing confessions, and bringing Holy Communion as well as counseling, and support to...

Catholic chaplains in the nation's VA medical centers are on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. Since the disease claimed the life of its first VA patient in mid-March, the death toll has climbed sharply. As of Easter Monday, April 13, more than 240 VA patients and several VA health care workers across the country have died of the disease. In New York City, the epicenter of the pandemi...