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Father Halladay\u2019s appointment, as of Jan. 22, 2025, was announced in Washington, DC, today by His Excellency, the Most Reverend\u00a0Timothy P. Broglio<\/a>, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services.<\/p>\n Archbishop Broglio said:<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very positive that Father Halladay has accepted the role of Vocation Director for the AMS.\u00a0 His years of experience as an Army Chaplain, his familiarity with this Archdiocese, and his great priestly virtue will help him as he succeeds Father Taillon to whom the AMS owes a debt of gratitude. \u00a0I have known Father Halladay since his days as a seminarian at the North American College\u2014where he and I played tennis with another great chaplain, the late Msgr. Charles Elmer.\u00a0 I am also very grateful to Archbishop (Thomas J.) Rodi of Mobile who released Father Paul Anthony for this ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n After retiring from the U.S. Army in September 2024 Father Halladay served for a brief time as\u00a0Associate Director of the Propaedeutic Program at\u00a0St. Patrick\u2019s Seminary<\/a>\u00a0in Menlo Park, CA. But God had other plans for the retired Army chaplain.\u00a0Father Halladay received a surprise inquiry from the Very Rev. Monsignor\u00a0Anthony R. Frontiero<\/a>, AMS Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, offering him the position of Vocation Director.<\/p>\n Upon accepting the offer Father Halladay\u00a0said:<\/p>\n \u201cTo say that the request from Msgr. Frontiero to be the new Vocation Director for AMS took me by complete surprise, cannot accurately convey what I was truly thinking in the moment. However, the Lord has a consistent track record of completely surprising me when it comes to where He\u2019s calling me to serve Him. Recognizing that consistency in this instance, along with the encouragement of the former Vocation Director, and my good friend, Father Marcel Taillon and the generosity of Fr. Mark Doherty, the Rector of St Patrick\u2019s Seminary, where I had started to work only in October, all of it indicated that Vocation Director for the AMS was genuinely where I was being called to serve.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As AMS Vocation Director, Father Halladay will be in charge of shepherding young men expressing an interest in the priesthood and U.S. Military chaplaincy through the process of\u00a0discernment and formation<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI look very much forward to serving the AMS and the young men we have in discernment for the Priesthood and Military Chaplaincy,\u201d he said. Young men interested in discerning a call to Catholic priesthood and U.S. Military chaplaincy may reach out to Father Halladay at\u00a0vocations@milarch.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Father Halladay\u2019s appointment as the new AMS Vocation Director comes upon an accomplished and diverse background in ministry, military service, humanitarianism, and academia. After graduating from Jesuit\u00a0Spring Hill College<\/a>\u00a0in Mobile, AL, with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Degree in Business Administration and Finance, Father Halladay began his professional career as a\u00a0U.S. Peace Corps<\/a>\u00a0Volunteer working with the Fishing Co-operative Development Office of the Agricultural Department for the Government of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis, West Indies, in\u00a0February, 1988.\u00a0His primary responsibility was to assist with the development\u00a0of\u00a0several different co-operative ventures: Farming Co-operatives, Schools Co-operatives, but with a concentration in the development of Fishing Co-operatives. His secondary assignment, a requirement by the Peace Corps, was working with the Small Business Development Unit of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Through the Fishing Co-operative Division, Father Halladay assisted with the development of four fishing co-operatives, a farming and a schools cooperative. He obtained funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the construction of a Co-operative center for two fishing cooperatives, Sandy Point and Dieppe Bay, in St. Kitts. Additionally, in conjunction with the Fisheries Division, he assisted with the developing legislation for seasonal fishing, fishing limits, and fishing implement laws so as to assist in the responsible management of the nation\u2019s natural resource and marine food supply.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Through the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Father Halladay assisted in developing legislation for the creation of a Historical Center for the capital city of Basseterre, St. Kitts.\u202f In conjunction with that legislation, he collaborated with Caribbean Architects, for the development of an architectural plans and styles catalogue for new construction in the newly established Basseterre Historical Center.\u202f This catalogue was a key instrument in developing Architectural cohesion for the Historical Center, implementing traditional West Indian architectural features in new construction, as well as retrofitting facades of existing structures for the same purpose.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Working with another Peace Corps Volunteer, assigned to the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Father Halladay helped develop the Young Entrepreneurs Society for the Basseterre High School, a Junior Achievement-based program teaching business skills to High School Students.\u202f\u00a0In his last year, he was elected Lead Volunteer and was responsible for the health and welfare of approximately 15 PCV\u2019s in country.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Upon completion of his service with the Peace Corps, Father Halladay worked for six months in the French West Indian Island of Martinique teaching English to French Postal Workers, while residing at the Benedictine Abbey of Notre Dame du Mont des\u00a0Oliviers. In August of 1990, he entered\u00a0Saint Joseph Seminary College<\/a>\u00a0in St Benedict, LA, as a seminarian for his home Archdiocese of Mobile, AL.\u202f\u00a0In 1992 Father Halladay obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Philosophy and entered theological studies at the\u00a0Pontificia\u00a0Universit\u00e0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n In 1994, Father Halladay returned from seminary studies to work as the Archivist for the Archdiocese of Mobile.\u202f\u00a0In this position he was tasked with preserving from decay ecclesial records of the Archdiocese as well as translating into English records from Mobile\u2019s French and Spanish Colonial period.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0In 1996 Father Halladay returned to the North American College and completed his Bachelors in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) at the\u00a0Pontificia\u00a0Universit\u00e0 Gregoriana.<\/p>\n From August 1997 to August 1998 Father Halladay returned to Mobile to work as the Pastoral Assistant at St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church. In September of 1998 he returned to Rome to complete his License in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) at the\u00a0Pontificia\u00a0Universit\u00e0\u00a0 In April of 1999, Father Halladay entered the Chaplain Candidate Program serving at Layton Barracks,\u00a0Wurzburgh, Germany and NATO HQ in Mons, Belgium as a 2nd\u00a0Lieutenant Chaplain Candidate.<\/p>\n In October of 1999 Father Halladay was ordained to the Diaconate at St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, and in June of 2000 he obtained the S.T.L. in Theological Spirituality from the Gregorian and was ordained to the Priesthood at the\u00a0Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception<\/a>\u00a0in Mobile, AL<\/p>\n From July 2000 to June 2004 Father Halladay served as Associate Pastor St. Pius X and St. Ignatius of Loyola Parishes in Mobile and for three months at St Columba\u2019s in Dothan, AL, before returning to finish Chaplain Candidate School at Fort Jackson, SC, and entering Active Duty as a U.S. Army Chaplain in September of 2004.<\/p>\n Since 2004 Father Halladay has served with the 1-506th\u00a0INF REG of the 101st\u00a0ABN DIV\/AASLT, with whom he was deployed to Ramadi, Iraq from November 2005 to November 2006.\u202f\u00a0It was in Operation Iraqi Freedom that Father Halladay was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge.<\/p>\n While assigned to the 58th\u00a0Trans AIT BN, 3rd\u00a0Chem\u00a0BDG from June 2007 to June 2009, Father Halladay worked as both the 58th\u00a0Transportation Battalion\u2019s Chaplain as well as the Garrison Catholic Chaplain at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, where he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM).<\/p>\n Father Halladay was assigned from July 2009 to December of 2011 as the U.S. Army\u2019s Special Categories Catholic Chaplain Recruiter.<\/p>\n From June 2012 to March 2013 Father Halladay served as the 2nd\u00a0Regimental Chaplain and Catholic Chaplain to the United States Corps of Cadets (USCC) at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.\u202f\u00a0From that position he deployed from April 2013 to April 2014 as the NATO Training Mission \u2013 Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Deputy Command Chaplain in Kabul, Afghanistan. During this deployment, Father Halladay was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Operation Enduring Freedom Campaign Medal, and the NATO Non-Article 5 Medal.\u202f\u00a0He returned to West Point as the 2nd\u00a0Regiment Chaplain and Catholic Chaplain to the USCC where he led the Catholic Chaplain Coverage for Cadet Basic Training for the Class of 2018 and was awarded a 2nd\u00a0Meritorious Service Medal at the conclusion of that assignment.<\/p>\n