BINGHAMTON, NY – The Reverend Mr. Jonathan M. Hoole, ENS, USN, was ordained a transitional deacon on Saturday, May 16, in his home Diocese of Syracuse, NY. The new deacon hopes eventually to serve as a Catholic chaplain in the U.S. Navy providing pastoral care to Catholic Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
The new deacon says he discerned his vocation gradually over time. It “appeared in small ways,” he says. “It began with attending a retreat at Notre Dame University called Vision during most of my summers in High School. Then it was cultivated in time with the Lord in adoration, praying the Divine Office, partaking of the Sacraments, and attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass often. It was this past year when I received a letter in the mail from my bishop that I was officially called by the Church to ordained ministry.”
In a solemn morning Mass at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Binghamton, NY, the Rev. Mr. Hoole, 24, received the sacrament of Holy Orders from Bishop Douglas J. Lucia of Syracuse through the laying of hands and invocation of the Holy Spirit. AMS Auxiliary Bishop Gregg M. Caggianelli, Ch, Col, USAF, concelebrated the 10:00 a.m. ordination Mass. Proudly watching from the congregation were the new deacon’s parents, Karen and Richard Hoole, Sr., and his brother, Richard Hoole, Jr.
The Rev. Mr. Hoole is completing his priestly formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD, where he is pursuing a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) Degree after earning a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Philosophy from St. John’s University while attending Cathedral Seminary House of Formation in New York City. Before entering seminary, the new deacon earned an Associate Degree in Adolescent Education from Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, NY.
Upon priestly ordination next year, the Rev. Mr. Hoole will spend the next three years honing his pastoral skills as a diocesan priest in his home Diocese of Syracuse before acceding to active duty as a Navy chaplain while on loan to the military.
The eventual priestly military service of the Rev. Mr. Hoole and other Catholic chaplain candidates is greatly anticipated by the Navy, which, like all other branches of the U.S. Military, continues to suffer a chronic shortage of Catholic chaplains. Currently, 58 priests are on active duty in the Navy, serving more than 130,000 Catholic Marines, Sailors, and Coast Guardsmen spread worldwide, not counting their families, whom Navy chaplains also serve.
Young men interested in discerning a priestly vocation, and the vocation within a vocation to serve those who serve in the U.S. military, can find more information at www.milarch.org/vocations, or may contact AMS Vocation Director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay, CH (MAJ), USA (Ret.), by at vocations@milarch.org or (202) 719-3600.
Gifts in support of AMS Vocations are gratefully accepted at milarch.org/donate.