GARY, IN – The Reverend Mr. Zachary Glick, 2d Lt, USAFR, a candidate for the Catholic priesthood and United States Military chaplaincy, was ordained a transitional deacon on Saturday, June 3, 2023, in his home Diocese of Gary, IN. The new deacon is on track to be ordained a priest next year and hopes eventually to serve as a Catholic chaplain in the U.S. Air Force providing pastoral care to Catholic airmen and their families with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
The Rev. Mr. Glick’s diaconal ordination was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels through the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit by Bishop Robert J. McClory. AMS Auxiliary Joseph L. Coffey concelebrated the 10:30 a.m. ordination Mass. Among those participating in the pews were the new deacon’s parents, Marcus A. and Joann Glick, and his brother, Marcus B. Glick.
The Rev. Mr. Glick, 28, is a 2013 graduate of Highland High School in Highland, IN. In 2017, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN, where in 2019 he earned a Master of Science Degree, also in Mechanical Engineering. In 2020 he earned a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Religion from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, IL. He is currently working on a Master of Divinity Degree at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, MI.
The new deacon says he discerned his vocation his senior year in college while enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). He says, “I began going to daily Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, and my realization of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist made me appreciate the gift of the Eucharist and of the priesthood. Getting involved with campus ministry, getting to know a joyful young priest, and beginning to read and study the Bible all greatly contributed to my discernment of my calling to the priesthood.”
Commenting on his diaconal ordination, the Rev. Mr. Glick said, “Being ordained a deacon was an indescribably amazing experience. I felt overwhelmed by God’s love for me in His gracious calling of me to the Priesthood. My heart was filled with peace during the Ordination Mass, knowing that I was in the place that God wanted me to be. While I desire to make a gift of my life to God and to His Church, I know that the unmerited gift I received from God on my ordination day far outweighs any gift I could give.”
The eventual service of the Rev. Mr. Glick and other Catholic chaplain candidates is greatly anticipated by the Air Force, which, like all other branches of the U.S. Military, continues to suffer a chronic shortage of Catholic chaplains. Currently, the Air Force is well below the number of active-duty priests needed to serve more than 80,000 Catholic airmen and their families spread worldwide.
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 Vocations Director Father Matthew Gray by at vocations@milarch.org or (202) 719-3600.
Gifts in support of AMS Vocations are gratefully accepted at milarch.org/donate.