WASHINGTON, DC — This past weekend the Vocations Office of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), hosted a “Welcome Aboard” gathering for incoming co-sponsored seminarians planning to serve as active-duty U.S. Military chaplains after ordination. The chaplain candidates’ seminary tuition and related expenses will be funded jointly by the AMS and their home dioceses, hence their designation as “co-sponsored.” Four men took part in the June 22-25 retreat, sharing time in fellowship, Morning and Evening Prayer, the celebration of Mass, conversation with Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, and briefings from AMS staff.
Participating in the four-day gathering were Mr. Paul Keenan of Lansing, MI; Mr. Michael Kuehne of Saginaw, MI; Mr. Zach MacKeller of Boise, ID; and Mr. Jakob Pohlman of Worcester, MA. Mr. Keenan and Mr. Pohlman plan to serve in the Navy, Mr. Kuehne and Mr. MacKeller in the Air Force. Each man is on a five-year vocational journey that will include five years of study and formation in preparation for priestly ordination followed by three years of pastoral service in his home dioceses before entering active duty as a chaplain.
In some of his remarks, Vocations Director Father S. Matthew Gray, Ch, Capt, SCANG, explained how military chaplains hold a “vocation within a vocation”: they are not only ministers at large but ministers with a special flock—the men and women who serve our nation in uniform and their families. Like those they serve, chaplains are actually members of the military with careers as officers, but Father Gray advised the newcomers to avoid letting their career status take priority over their vocation. “Your vocation,” he said, “will lead to you heaven; your career can lead you to hell. Be holy priests, and you will be great chaplains.”
That message caught the attention of the prospective chaplains, particularly those with prior military experience. Mr. MacKeller, who served as an airman until his separation from the Air Force three years ago, said “The priority should be the relationship with God. Many Christians are not really taught that. When you come to the military the mission becomes everything, but what happens when your career is disappointing or not what you expected it to be? Or perhaps you even fail in your mission. If you fail in your mission that means your identity has failed and that means every relationship with everyone around you breaks apart to pieces. And so to be able to flip that is the difference between life and death, honestly.”
Mr. Pohlman said he was especially impressed to learn from a staff briefing that the AMS functions entirely on the generosity of private donors. “The most moving thing for me personally,” he said, “has been the fact the AMS is one-hundred percent donor-supported.” Mr. Kuehne agreed: “That was a question I had,” he said, “where does the AMS get its funding—is there anything from the military or the government?—and to find out that it’s all donation-based is incredible to hear…. It’s heartwarming to see that people are supporting a diocese that might be well removed from where they’re at.”
The Welcome Aboard gathering comes as the AMS works diligently to overcome a chronic shortage of Catholic priests serving as chaplains in the U.S. military. The shortage comes as aging chaplains reach military retirement faster than they can be replaced. Since the time of 9/11, the active-duty roster has shrunk from more than 400 to fewer than 200. Currently, 25% of the U.S. military is Catholic, but Catholic priests make up barely 7% of the chaplain corps.
To fill this shortage, the AMS Vocations Office, in cooperation with local bishops and religious communities, is inviting more and more young men to discern whether they are called to pursue priestly vocations and eventual chaplaincy in the military. Over the past 15 years, this outreach has begun to yield a bountiful harvest. The number of seminarians, deacons, and priests enrolled in the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program has risen from seven (7) in 2008 to 34 this year with two more applications currently pending. Among those now in formation, 13 plan to be chaplains in the Army; 12 in the Navy, serving both sailors and Marines; and nine in the Air Force. The current crop of co-sponsored seminarians, who hail from 23 dioceses, are pursuing formation in 21 seminaries.
Church studies show the military itself is the largest single source of U.S. priestly vocations. According to the most recent annual Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood, conducted by the Center of Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, 4% of priests ordained in 2023 previously served in the military, and 12% come from military families. The actual percentages are almost certainly higher because only 73% of new priests responded to the survey.
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 milarch.org/vocations, or may contact Father Gray directly by email at vocations@milarch.org.
Donations in support of AMS Vocations are gratefully accepted at milarch.org/donate.