CV NEWS FEED // This fall, at least 10 new seminarians are set to join the U.S. Military as Catholic chaplains, offering hope amid a severe shortage in military chaplaincy.
According to an August 28 press release from the Archdiocese of the Military, the new chaplain candidates have joined the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program (CSP), a collaboration between the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) and various dioceses and religious communities. Their addition raises the number of CSP-enrolled prospective military chaplains to over 30.
As CatholicVote previously reported, 25% of the U.S. Armed Forces is Catholic, but only 7% of chaplains are priests. The shortage is exacerbated by the rapid retirement of aging chaplain-priests.
“Consequently,” the release stated, “with Catholic chaplains spread so thin, Catholic military members sometimes go weeks at a time without access to a priest, Mass, or the sacraments.”
The August 28 release shared that most of those currently enrolled in CSP will participate in AMS’s annual Labor Day Weekend event from August 30 to September 1 at the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center. The gathering will include Mass, discussions on military ministry, and fellowship activities, with support from the Knights of Columbus.
Young men interested in discerning a priestly vocation, especially one focused on serving those in the U.S. Military, can find more information here or reach out to AMS Vocations Director Father Marcel Taillon at vocations@milarch.org.
