WASHINGTON, DC — His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA (AMS), on Friday commissioned three new members of Team Saint Paul, an AMS apostolate for civilian young adults to accompany peers in the U.S. armed forces on their journeys of faith. “With the help of God I am ready and willing to serve,” said all three: Zackary Little (Sgt), USMC (Ret.), Mark Baron (SGT), USA, and Regis Kramer (SGT), USA. The commissioning took place at noon Mass before a congregation of family members and AMS staff in the main chapel of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center, the archdiocese’s home base in the Nation’s Capital.
In his homily, Archbishop Broglio focused on the trio’s mission as members of a team bearing the name of the great evangelizer himself: “The whole notion of the radical change in Paul’s life when he met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus—that really describes all of us in our vocation. We meet the Lord and then He changes the direction of our lives, and that is really a very beautiful thing. As long as we are open to that meeting, we are open to that growth that is implied in the meeting with Jesus Christ.” Commissioning the three after the homily, Archbishop Broglio invoked God’s blessing on their efforts: “May God help you to be a good steward to what has been entrusted to you, and may you receive the grace you need for your service in the Archdiocese for the Military Services.”
The addition of the three, following two weeks of training in Washington, brings to eight the total number of active Team Saint Paul members commissioned since 2022. Previously-commissioned members Caroline McDermott, Regina Fontana, and Noah Mize are stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky; Jurate Reventas and Juliana Gahr are stationed at Travis Air Force Base (AFB) in California. Two of the new members will add another two installations to that list. Mr. Little will serve at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, along with his wife Annie and their four young children. Sgt. Kramer will serve at Fort Bragg, also in North Carolina. Sgt. Baron will join McDermott, Fontana, and Mize at Fort Campbell, where he met them while stationed there.
Reflecting on his decision to join Team Saint Paul, Sgt. Baron said: “For the first few years of my military career, I was largely alone in my faith, and it was quite challenging. And then after two or three years at Fort Campbell, the first Team Saint Paul members showed up and it was almost like a night-and-day difference. It was incredible to see how they used their gifts to connect people and introduce myself and all of my peers to each other and it helped me to see that I actually did have a lot of people I could count on and a lot of brothers I could grow in faith with.”
Both Sergeants Baron and Kramer, although still on active duty, are transitioning out of the service. Each is set to separate from the Army in February. Both joined Team Saint Paul through the Department of Defense (DOD) SkillBridge program, which connects departing service members to civilian work experiences through specific training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service. While awaiting discharge, Sergeants Baron and Kramer will serve as Team Saint Paul interns under the SkillBridge program before transitioning to full membership upon military separation. “I just felt that Team Saint Paul was a very good use of the four months that are provided to all enlisted soldiers” in SkillBridge, Sgt. Kramer said.
Envisioning a “day in the life” on Team Saint Paul at Camp Lejeune, Mr. Little mused, “just waking up, giving my surrender to Christ, taking that into a Holy Hour, hopefully with the Blessed Sacrament, attending daily Mass, and then the chapel there, they already have a huge community of Marines and Sailors who are looking to grow, so I would imagine spending most of my afternoons in discernment and figuring out how we’re going to do that.
As they embark on their new mission accompanying servicemen and women in faith, the newly commissioned will draw heavily on their two weeks of training, which took place under the direction AMS Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization Mark Moitoza, Th.D., D.Min., Associate Director for Missionary Discipleship McKenzie Mauss, and Team Saint Paul Coordinator Sarah Robertson.
Anyone interested in joining Team Saint Paul, or providing support, may find more information at milarch.org/teamsaintpaul.