BUFFALO, NY – Father Christopher J. Wild, LT, USN, a candidate for United States Military chaplaincy, was ordained a priest on Saturday, June 6, in his home Diocese of Buffalo, NY. The new priest, 28, is on track eventually to serve as a Catholic chaplain in the U.S. Navy, providing pastoral care to Catholic Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and their families with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). [Watch the video.]
Father Wild began sensing a call to priesthood at an early age. “Shortly after I received my First Communion,” he said, “I started altar serving, and although I couldn’t articulate it at the time, I knew that something very important was happening at Mass. I loved being close to the altar, and I was eager to sign up for Holy Days. Around the same time, I started attending the parish school at Our Lady of Pompeii where I learned to love the faith through religion and history classes.”
Father Wild received the sacrament of holy orders at Saint Joseph Cathedral from Bishop Michael W. Fisher through the laying of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit. AMS Auxiliary Bishop Gregg M. Caggianelli, Ch, Col, USAF, concelebrated the 10:00 a.m. ordination Mass. Among those in attendance were the new priest’s parents, Brian and Kimberly Wild, and an uncle, retired U.S. Army officer Joe Wild.
His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, attended Father Wild’s Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon at Our Lady of Pompeii Church.
Father Wild holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Philosophy and Catholic Studies from St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY. During his final year of formational studies at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD, he completed further studies, earning a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.).
“Through high school,” Father Wild recalls, “I had a sense that God was calling me to give my life in service, but I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like; I considered teaching, nursing, firefighting, lay ministry, and holy orders, but nothing seemed to be certain.
“It was in college that I dove much more deeply into our faith, guided by wonderful priests, professors, and lay ministers in campus ministry. I spent some time dating and considering marriage, but the same thought kept tugging at my heart in prayer: that God might be calling me to be a priest. As graduation drew near and I began to consider whether I would begin working or continue studying at graduate school, a discernment retreat in Syracuse marked an important moment in my journey. It was there that I resolved to apply for the seminary to offer to God the time and space to reveal Himself and His will to me. The years of seminary and time spent at parishes, hospitals, and military installations have confirmed time and again that this is the vocation to which God is calling me. I can’t imagine life any other way.”
Under his co-sponsorship agreement with the AMS, Father Wild will serve three years in his home Diocese of Buffalo, honing his pastoral skills before acceding to active duty. The eventual service of Father Wild 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, the Navy has only 55 priests on active duty and 16 in the Reserve, serving a Catholic population of more than 130,000 Sailors, Marines, 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 Vocations Director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay, CH (MAJ), USA (Ret.), at vocations@milarch.org or (202) 719-3600.
Gifts in support of AMS Vocations are gratefully accepted at milarch.org/donate.