Paths to Chaplaincy

 

Co-Sponsorship

What is the Co-Sponsorship Program?


The Archdiocese for the Military Services USA, (AMS) in partnership with other U.S. dioceses, offers the Co-Sponsorship Program. This program enables a man with a vocation to priestly ministry in the military to be financially co-sponsored throughout his seminary training by both the Military Archdiocese and the seminarian's civilian diocese. Upon graduation from the seminary, he is ordained a priest for that civilian diocese. After completing at least three (3) years of priestly pastoral ministry in the diocese, he will be permitted (as part of the co-sponsorship agreement between the AMS Archbishop and the co-sponsored priest's Ordinary) to serve on active duty as a military chaplain.All Catholic priests who have served and who are serving in the U.S. military chaplaincy have been "borrowed" or are "on loan" from dioceses or religious orders. Priest-chaplains do not become incardinated in the AMS. They remain incardinated in their diocese or religious order, have faculties to function within the jurisdiction of the AMS granted by the AMS Archbishop, yet can be recalled by their Ordinary or Religious Superior at any time.

What are the advantages of the Co-Sponsorship Program if I feel called to serve both as a Catholic priest and in the Military Services?


The Co-Sponsorship Program offers you the opportunity to be grounded, trained and to serve in a diocese and then in the military for as long a period as you and your bishop decide. Additionally, if you choose a full career as a military chaplain, upon your retirement from the military, you will still have many pastoral opportunities to continue to serve in your home diocese, enriching that local diocese with the myriad experiences and training gained in the Armed Forces.

What steps are necessary if I feel called to serve both as a Catholic priest and in the military ?


• If you are currently a seminarian for a local diocese, you must first discuss your interest in the military chaplaincy with your formation directors and Bishop; follow his directions. You should not contact the Military Archdiocese prior to speaking first with your Bishop and those responsible for your formation (i.e., diocesan/religious community Vocation Director, Director of Seminarians, seminary Rector).

• If you are not a seminarian and feel a call to the priesthood and the military chaplaincy, you should talk with your installation priest-chaplain (if you are already on active duty), or with your parish priest. He, in turn, will put you in touch with the vocations director in your home diocese. He can outline the steps to discern your call and become an ordained priest. You may also contact our Vocations Director for information and guidance.

• The Archdiocese for the Military Services offers at least two vocation discernment retreat weekends each year, which bring together chaplains, priests, and men interested in leading the life of a military chaplain to learn more about the rewards and challenges of serving both God and your country.

• If a mutual decision is made for you to be trained to be a priest for the military chaplaincy, you could then participate in the Co-Sponsorship Program.

Who can participate in the Military Co-Sponsorship Program?


Any single Catholic young man with a college degree who shows signs of having a vocation to priestly ministry and who can meet the academic requirements for seminary training and the qualifications for military service, is eligible to apply. Many of the candidates are men on active duty, those with prior military service, or sons of military families. Since the maximum age for military service by law is 68, normally a candidate must be able to enter active duty before age 42. Exceptions to the entry age may be made on a case-by-case basis by the competent authorities of the Branch of Service applied for.

What are the steps to become accepted for the Co-Sponsorship Program?


If you are not currently a seminarian, after an initial meeting with the Vocations Director of the Archdiocese for the Military Services , you will be put in contact with a civilian diocese that participates in the Co-Sponsorship Program. You will then meet with the Diocesan Vocation Director and members of an Admissions Board to ensure that you meet the vocational, psychological, academic, and spiritual requirements of the civilian diocese. Upon acceptance, the Co-Sponsorship candidate will attend a seminary chosen by his Bishop.

If currently a seminarian of a local diocese, your Bishop will advise you regarding the process to follow in conjunction with the Military Archdiocese.While in seminary, you are expected to enter and participate in the Chaplain Candidate Program of a branch of the US Armed Forces during your theological training. This program for seminarians gives one a taste of what ministry as a military chaplain would be like, mandatory and essential training, and continues to inform the discernment process regarding a call to the military chaplaincy.

Upon ordination to the priesthood, you will be expected and authorized to serve as a chaplain in the Reserve or National Guard until entrance on active duty.

Can I choose which military branch I would serve as chaplain?


Yes. Candidates are free to choose whether they wish to serve with the Army, Navy, or Air Force.

What if my bishop or I discern that I should not be a military chaplain?


The decision to end a Candidate's status as a Chaplain Candidate or a Reservist whether by the candidate, his bishop, or the military service removes you from the Co-sponsorship Program. However, you remain a seminarian or priest of the local diocese.

Who do I contact to start the process to become a military chaplain through the Co-Sponsorship Program?


• If not currently a seminarian of a local diocese and a civilian consult your local pastor, vocation director or Catholic chaplain before applying. If your priest feels you should begin the process, the pastor or chaplain will make initial contact for you with the Vocations Director of the Archdiocese for the Military Services at the following address:


Father Kerry M. Abbott, OFM Conv.
Director of Vocations
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS)
P O BOX 4469
Washington, DC 20017-0469
Web site: www.milarch.org
Phone: (202) 719-3615
Fax: (202) 269-9651
E-Mail: vocations@milarch.org or fatherkerryabbott@gmail.com

Chaplain Candidacy

What is the Chaplain Candidacy Program?


Each of the three Service Branches offers a Chaplain Candidate program. The program involves several weeks of training at different times during the course of a calendar year. As a seminarian in the program, you will be a commissioned officer assigned to an installation under the tutelage of a Catholic priest-chaplain. It is here that you can observe and participate in the diverse chapel programs on the installation. You will also experience the interaction of the chaplains of other faith groups who, together, promote the chaplaincy's mission to provide for the Constitutionally guaranteed free exercise of religion.

What are the advantages of the Chaplain Candidacy Program if I feel called to serve both as a Catholic priest and in the military Services?
The Chaplain Candidacy Program gives you the opportunity to witness the life of a military chaplain without first requiring your commitment to become one. This way, you can discern, based on your experience and observations, if military chaplaincy is for you.

How do I join the Chaplain Candidacy Program?


To join the program, you must be enrolled in seminary at the graduate school level, that is, in pre-theology or the school of theology. After (1) receiving permission of your Ordinary and Seminary Rector, you must then (2) apply to the Military Archdiocese. It is the only Endorsing Agent that can validate your application to be a Catholic Chaplain Candidate. The final process is (3) to complete the appropriate in-processing required by the appropriate service branch.

Upon final acceptance by the military, you will be offered a commission as an Reserve officer chaplain candidate in the grade of O-1 (an Ensign in the Navy, and a 2LT in the Army and Air Force).

The Chaplain Candidacy program does not require you to become a chaplain subsequent to ordination. However, the time in uniform spent in the program remains a part of your military record and affects the total-time-of-commissioned-service date. This affects promotion eligibility and years-of-service pay level.

What steps are necessary if I feel called to explore the possibility of pursuing my priestly vocation in the military?

• If you are currently a seminarian for a local diocese, you must first discuss your interest in the military chaplaincy with your Vocations Director and follow his directions. You should not contact the Military Archdiocese prior to speaking first with your Vocations Director and your Bishop.

• If you are not a seminarian or priest and feel a call to the priesthood and the military chaplaincy, you should talk with your installation priest-chaplain (if you are already on active duty), or with your parish priest. He, in turn, will put you in touch with the Vocations Director in your home diocese. He can outline the steps to discern your call to priesthood. You may also contact our AMS Vocations Director for information and guidance.

• The Archdiocese for the Military Services offers at least two vocation discernment retreat weekends each year, which bring together chaplains, priests, and men interested in leading the life of a military chaplain to learn more about the rewards and challenges of serving both God and your country.

• If a mutual decision is made for you to be trained to be a priest for the military chaplaincy, you could then participate in the Chaplain Candidacy Program.

Air Force Professional Religious Scholarship

For more information, please contact a Chaplain at the Air Force Recruiting Service, or visit: http://airforce.com/chaplain/?m=2010OAChaplain&pl=Google&med=CPC&dest=homepage .