VENICE, FL — Father Jacob Christian Gwynn, LT, USNR, a U.S. Navy chaplain candidate, was ordained a priest on Saturday, July 12, for the Diocese of Venice, FL. The new priest is on track to go on active duty, providing pastoral care to Catholic Sailors, Marines, Coast Guard members, and their families with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).
Father Gwynn received the sacrament of holy orders from Bishop Frank J. Dewane of the Diocese of Venice in Florida through the laying of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit. AMS Auxiliary Bishop Gregg M. Caggianelli concelebrated the 11:00 a.m. ordination Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Venice. Among those in attendance were his father, William (U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary), his mother, Vicki, two sisters, his brother Thomas, (SSG) USA, his cousin Jackee, ENS, USN, his niece, nephews, and many more extended family members. Watch the video.
Father Gwynn, 27, was born and raised in Palmetto, FL. He graduated from Palmetto High School in 2016. In 2020 he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Philosophy from Saint John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. From there he entered Saint Vincent DePaul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach where he recently earned a Master of Divinity Degree. Under his Co-Sponsored Seminarian Agreement with the AMS and the Diocese of Venice, Father Gwynn will spend the next five years assigned to local Florida parishes, gaining pastoral experience, before acceding to active duty as a chaplain and commissioned Naval officer.
Father Gwynn said his religious vocation is a lifelong dream. “As a child, one of my earliest aspirations was to become a priest,” he said. “While in middle and high school, I wanted to pursue other options but the call to the priesthood was always there. One of my mentors from a young age was Monsignor Joseph Ferraro, a retired priest who served as a Navy Chaplain who inspired me to pursue my path to not only the priesthood but also the Navy Chaplaincy.”
Father Gwynn joined the Navy’s Chaplain Candidate Officer Program in 2021 during his first year of theology study in seminary. He spent summers in Navy training. During that time he attended Navy Officer Development School (ODS) and took part in chaplain basic leadership training.
Commenting on his ordination, the new priest said, “My heart is still overflowing with the graces received at ordination. The theme that was said many times on my day of ordination continues to resound in my heart today: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.’ (Ps 118:24). I am eternally grateful for the call to serve the Lord and His people through the ministry of the priesthood and eventually as a chaplain!”
The eventual service of Father Gwynn 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 shortage of Catholic chaplains. Currently, the Navy has only 47 priests on active duty and around 20 in the Reserve, serving a large Catholic population of more than 100,000 Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, not counting their families, whom Navy chaplains also serve, dispersed 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 milarch.org/vocations, or may contact AMS Vocations Director Father Paul-Anthony Halladay by at [email protected] or (202) 719-3600.
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