Diocese of Arlington
Fathers Raymond E. Goins and Michael C. Sampson, ordained June 7 for the Diocese of Arlington, are preparing to serve as chaplains in the US military.
Fr. Goins, a captain in the Army’s Individual Ready Reserve, is on track to return to active duty in the Army, while Fr. Sampson will serve as a Navy chaplain, according to a press release from Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS). Both men are co-sponsored by the AMS and will serve in parish ministry for three years before entering full-time military chaplaincy.
As CatholicVote previously reported, the Diocese of Arlington’s recent ordination marked its largest priesthood class since 1996, with 12 men receiving Holy Orders during the Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More.
Fr. Goins, 33, is a West Point graduate and former Army field artillery officer. Reflecting on his call to the priesthood, he said he was inspired by “the example of holy priests and chaplains, and the desire to be of better service to soldiers,” according to the release. His goal in ministry is “to serve God and His people, specifically by bringing them the sacraments.”
He credited Fathers James O’Neal and Matthew Pawlikowski, both retired Army chaplains who concelebrated the ordination Mass, for shepherding his discernment.
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Fr. Sampson, 42, has a background in international relations and law. He said his vocational clarity came when he “began to pray and meditate on the Litany of Trust,” which helped him “be open to what God had planned for me and to have faith in his will and not my own.”
Looking ahead to his ministry, he said, “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to bring the sacraments to the people, but especially to encounter them in their times of greatest need.”
Both men completed their formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. They each earned a Master of Divinity; Fr. Goins also received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology.
Fathers Goins and Sampson are part of a national cohort of 12 Catholic men preparing for military chaplaincy this year — nine as priests and three as transitional deacons.
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