{"id":5480,"date":"2026-04-21T19:28:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepursuitofholiness\/?p=5480"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:28:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T02:28:53","slug":"u-s-military-chaplain-hopefuls-turn-out-in-record-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepursuitofholiness\/2026\/04\/u-s-military-chaplain-hopefuls-turn-out-in-record-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Military Chaplain Hopefuls Turn Out in Record Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

MENLO PARK, CA \u2013 A record-high 38 prospective Catholic U.S. Military chaplains gathered at\u00a0St. Patrick\u2019s Seminary<\/a>\u00a0this past weekend for the annual spring discernment retreat for young men discerning a possible \u201cvocation within a vocation\u201d as both Catholic priests and military chaplains. The\u00a0Vocations Office<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA<\/a>\u00a0(AMS), holds two of these retreats each year\u2014one in the spring on the West Coast and another in the fall on the East Coast\u2014as part of its ongoing strategy to relieve a shortage of Catholic priests on active duty.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s spring retreat, held April 9-12, was organized and directed by AMS Director of Vocations, Father\u00a0Paul-Anthony Halladay<\/a>, CH (MAJ), USA (Ret.), himself a retired veteran U.S. Army chaplain. His Excellency, the Most Reverend\u00a0Timothy P. Broglio<\/a>, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, took part in the four days of prayer, reflection, and dialogue, and he celebrated Holy Mass for those gathered.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Military Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of the 38, 15 are considering a vocation as chaplains in the\u00a0U.S. Air Force<\/a>, eight in the\u00a0Navy<\/a>, and seven in the\u00a0Army<\/a>. Another eight are still discerning which branch of service they hope to join if ordained as priests. A team of priests gave talks, took part in group prayer and discussion, and provided spiritual guidance and counsel to the chaplain hopefuls. The team included priests from the\u00a0U.S. Military Academy at West Point<\/a>, the\u00a0U.S. Air Force Academy<\/a>, and chaplain recruiters serving the three chaplain corps of the\u00a0different service branches.<\/p>\n

In talks, Father Halladay focused on the\u00a0Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program<\/a>, a vocations partnership between the AMS and cooperating U.S. dioceses and religious communities willing to release a participating seminarian for military service after priestly ordination. Father Halladay further explained military procedures for chaplain candidacy. Father\u00a0John Guyol<\/a>, S.J., explored the process of discernment itself. Father\u00a0Gary Thomas<\/a>\u00a0spoke on the spiritual fatherhood of Saint Joseph. Father\u00a0David Hammond<\/a>, CHC, LCDR, USN, shared insights on how military chaplains are spiritual fathers to those who serve. A panel of seminarians discussed the various steps on the vocational journey and reflected on their experience of seminary life. The inspirational stories of two U.S. Military chaplains now under consideration for sainthood were also shared. Father\u00a0Rodrigo Ulloa<\/a>, M.M., spoke on the life and heroic death in battle of Father\u00a0Vincent R. Capodanno<\/a>, Servant of God, in Vietnam, and Father\u00a0Matthew Pawlikowski<\/a>, CH (COL), USA (Ret.) shared how Venerable Father\u00a0Emil Kapaun<\/a>\u00a0died a hero\u2019s death in a Korean Prisoner-of-War camp.<\/p>\n

The AMS will hold this year\u2019s Fall Discernment Retreat from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, 2026, at\u00a0St. Mary\u2019s Seminary<\/a>\u00a0in Baltimore, MD. Young men interested in participating may contact Father Halladay at\u00a0vocations@milarch.org<\/a>\u00a0or (202) 719-3600.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MENLO PARK, CA \u2013 A record-high 38 prospective Catholic U.S. Military chaplains gathered at\u00a0St. Patrick\u2019s Seminary\u00a0this past weekend for the annual spring discernment retreat for young men discerning a possible \u201cvocation within a vocation\u201d as both Catholic priests and military chaplains. The\u00a0Vocations Office\u00a0of the\u00a0Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA\u00a0(AMS), holds two of these retreats each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4296,"featured_media":5483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1922,1805,311],"class_list":["post-5480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-archbishop-broglio","tag-archdiocese-for-military-services","tag-catholic"],"yoast_head":"\nU.S. Military Chaplain Hopefuls Turn Out in Record Numbers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"MENLO PARK, CA \u2013 A record-high 38 prospective Catholic U.S. Military chaplains gathered at\u00a0St. Patrick\u2019s Seminary\u00a0this past weekend for the annual spring\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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