ROME – The Reverend Mr. Bradley David Easterbrooks, a candidate for the Catholic priesthood and United States Military chaplaincy, was ordained a transitional deacon on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, at the Altar of the Chair in the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. He hopes eventually to serve as an active-duty chaplain in the U.S. Navy with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
The Rev. Mr. Easterbrooks, 37, is currently in priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College and scheduled to be ordained a priest next year. His diaconal ordination was celebrated at a 9:30 a.m. Mass through the laying on of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit by His Eminence, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, DC. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, concelebrated the ordination Mass. The new deacon’s parents and more than 70 guests including close relatives, friends, priests, and former colleagues attended.
The Rev. Mr. Easterbrooks is a 2007 graduate of Boston College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Political Science and History, and a 2012 graduate of Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law in California, where he earned a Juris Doctorate (J.D.). He also holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology Degree (S.T.B.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he has commenced matriculation for a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) as well.
Co-sponsored by his home Diocese of San Diego, the new deacon says he began to discern a priestly vocation while on active duty in the U.S. Navy, serving as an attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). “I opened myself to the possibility of priesthood in prayer, and then God took it from there. Even though I was happy in my career as an attorney and Naval officer, God placed on my heart a desire to serve his Church as a priest and Naval chaplain. Since saying yes to the call, I have been filled with joy as I prepare to serve his people in uniform as a priest of Jesus Christ.”
The Rev. Mr. Easterbrooks, formerly an active-duty lieutenant, now serves in the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant, junior grade, and chaplain candidate. Commenting on his diaconal ordination, the new deacon said, “I am the happiest man alive and thankful for this calling! Ordained ministry is one which is filled with love for God’s people and joy that is sourced in the heart. My ordination to the diaconate has enabled me to serve God’s people at the altar and by preaching, deepening my relationship with the Lord and his people as I prepare for priestly ordination next June. I am thankful that God has chosen this path for me. My ordination was that moment when I got to say ‘yes’ to this calling, a moment of great seriousness, awe, and joy.”
The Rev. Mr. Easterbrooks reaches this penultimate milestone in his formational journey at a critical time for the exercise of Catholic faith in the Navy. Like other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Navy continues to suffer a chronic shortage of Catholic chaplains due to attrition: priests are reaching mandatory military retirement faster than they can be replaced. Since 9/11, the number of active-duty Catholic U.S. Military chaplains in all branches of service has fallen from more than 400 to 189 today. While Catholics make up about 25% of the U.S. Armed Forces, Catholic priests now account for only about six percent of military chaplains. In the Navy, 47 priests currently on active duty serve tens of thousands of Catholic Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen spread around the world, along with their families.
At the same time, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), the military itself continues to be a rich source of vocations in the U.S. CARA’s annual Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood found at least five percent of the Class of 2021 has prior military experience, and 11% come from families where at least one parent served in the military, making the AMS the nation’s largest source of new priests. The actual numbers are certain to be higher, because only 73% of this year’s ordinands (346 out of 472) responded to the survey.
The AMS is now busy tapping this source for prospective chaplains. The Vocations Office is focusing attention on active-duty servicemen expressing an interest in the priesthood, inviting more qualified candidates to join the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program, a vocations partnership between the AMS and cooperating dioceses and religious communities around the country. Thanks in large part to the support of U.S. bishops and religious superiors, along with increased awareness and discernment opportunities, the number of co-sponsored seminarians has risen from seven in 2008 to 37 today.
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 the Vocations Office at vocations@milarch.org or by (202) 719-3600.
Donations in support of AMS vocations are gratefully accepted at www.milarch.org/donate.
