Catholic Military Life

Thursday, May 22, is the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and People of the Sea including U.S. Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen. In this episode of Catholic Military Life, we learn more from Sister Joanna Okereke, HHCJ, National Director of Stella Maris, the maritime apostolate of the Catholic Church.

In this episode, retired U.S. Army Special Forces First Sergeant Sompaul Vorapanich joins us by phone from Lourdes, France where he is on pilgrimage with the Warriors to Lourdes.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Burne, USAF (Ret.), shares plans for, and explores the meaning of, the 31st Annual Memorial Mass to be celebrated by Archbishop Broglio on Sunday, May 18, at 4:30 p.m. (ET) in the Upper Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 4th Street and Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC.

Meet Auxiliary Bishop-Elect Gregg M. Caggianelli whose episcopal ordination will take place on May 9 at Saint Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, FL.

In this episode Madeline Stockman, Coordinator for Missionary Discipleship Formation, shares personal adventures accompanying U.S. Military servicemen and women on their journeys of faith through the Reach More movement.

Catholic Deacon Ray Moreau, Maj USAF (Ret.), reflects on his commitment of service to God and Country.

Father Stephen Wong traces his unlikely journey from Jamaican emigrant, to U.S. Army counter-intelligence officer, to Catholic priestly ordination at the age of 62.

Want to be a Catholic priest on active duty in the U.S. Military? Find out how.

Col. Suzy Streeter, USAF (Ret.), on a new apostolate for spiritual mentoring linking older military personnel with younger personnel in the U.S. Military.

Father Thomas J. Woodhouse shares his journey from aviation supply officer in the U.S. Marine Corps to Catholic priest of the Diocese of Providence, R.I. His prosperous career as a pilot in the aerospace defense industry was interrupted by God's call, leading to his ordination at the ripe age of 56.

In this episode retired U.S. Army Colonel Anita Raines shares thoughts on her new role as Chancellor of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

In this episode Noah Mize and Peter Bockrath tell how they became the first male members of Team St. Paul, assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

In this episode retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kevin Stacy shares his experiences serving as a Missionary Discipleship Trainer, based in Oklahoma, for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Retired NBA star Gordon Hayward shares how he decided to become Catholic after 14 years in professional basketball.

Meet Juliana Gahr, a new member of Team Saint Paul. In this episode she traces her journey from college graduate to spiritual companion of those serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

In this episode Team Saint Paul members Caroline McDermott and Ms. Regina Fontana give witness to their Catholic faith encounters over the past year with soldiers at Fort Campbell.

In this episode retired Four-Star Admiral William J. Fallon invites all to go on pilgrimage--the Pilgrimage for the Sea Services on Oct. 6 at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, MD. Listen for details.

In this edition, Ms. Jurate Reventas shares her first-year adventures as a member of Team Saint Paul at Travis Air Force Base in California.

Sister Miriam Christi went from a career in the U.S. Air Force to a vocation in religious life. In this episode, she shares her remarkable story.

In this episode retired Vice-Admiral P. Stephen Stanley, Chairman of the Father Vincent Capdanno Guild, provides an update on Father Capodanno's Cause for Canonization and talks about the upcoming Memorial Mass for his repose.

The product of a U.S. Military upbringing and fresh out of college, Mr. Patrick Doyal explains in this edition his commitment to serve for the next three years as a Catholic missionary of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

Bill Newbrough reflects on how you can support military Catholics in his new role as Donor Relations Officer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in this episode of Catholic Military Life.

In this episode retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Patrick J. Raglow shares how his long military career--and his association with Catholic military chaplains--prepared him to organize relief efforts for tornado victims as the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

In this episode retired Brigadier General John W. Lathrop and wife Mary share how a firefight on the first day of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 led to his conversion to Catholicism.

In this episode retired U.S. Army First Sergeant Sompaul Vorapanich, a member of the Knights of Columbus and Director of the annual Warriors to Lourdes Pilgrimage, shares how ailing veterans find peace and healing at the sanctuary baths and grotto of Our Lady.

In this episode Father Peter A. Pomposello, CH (MAJ), USA, tells how he recruited more than two dozen prospective Catholic U.S. Army chaplains in less than 18 months as the Army's chief Catholic chaplain recruiter.

In this episode retired Space Shuttle astronaut and four-star U.S. Air Force General Kevin P. Chilton mulls over his upcoming presentation on "trustworthy stewards" at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 19.

In this episode, Dr. Mark Moitoza, Th.D., D. Min., Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, tells how qualified military Catholics can get a big discount on passes to the five-day National Eucharistic Congress July 17-21, 2024, in Indianapolis.

In this episode Lt. Col. Louis Hoffman, USA (Ret.) and his wife Kathleen share how Catholic chaplains became a force multiplier in his accomplished career as a Green Beret and hers as an Army nurse.

In this episode the Reverend Mr. Jacob George, a newly ordained Transitional Deacon currently honing his canon law skills in the Tribunal of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, recounts his extraordinary journey from predominantly Hindu and Moslem cultures to Catholic priesthood and the possibility of eventual service as a U.S. Military chaplain.

In this edition of Catholic Military Life, Private First Class Hunter McDonnell of the Virginia Army National Guard and his mom, Ms. Noel Orsak, share how boot camp at Fort Jackson made him a believer in the Catholic Faith as he prepares to enter the National Military Academy at West Point.

As a U.S. Air Force chaplain assigned to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Father Captain Tyler R. Harris, CH, Capt, USAF, in this edition of Catholic Military Life, shares how he leads souls in the Paradise of the Pacific to the Paradise of Eternity.

Meet Father Marcel Taillon, the new interim Vocations Director for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in this edition of Catholic Military Life.

Ms. Donna Cowdrey and her late husband, U.S. Marine Brigadier General Christian B. Cowdrey, relied on Catholic military chaplains to access the sacraments and practice their faith through decades of service that included his deployment to Beruit at the time of the 1983 terrorist bombing that killed 241 American servicemen at the Marine Corps barracks there. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, she shares how those priests on active duty made a difference.

As AMS Director of Faith Formation Mr. José Amaya is responsible for training and mentoring catechetical leaders on U.S. Military installations all over the world. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, Mr. Amaya shares how he encourages religious educators to commit themselves to service to others with missionary zeal.

A newly established Catholic Military Apostolate of the United States (CMA-US) aims to build Catholic communities on installations worldwide in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. President Nicholas Cammaroto, SSgt, USAF, and colleagues share details including how you can join in this edition of Catholic Military Life.

Child sex abuse at the hands of a former Catholic Church lay leader is the topic of a new book by U.S. Army wife and abuse survivor Carrie Bucalo and Auxiliary Bishop William (Bill) Muhm of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the co-authors share how the Book of Matthew, Chapter 18, offers healing and guidance.

Built in 1900, the Catholic Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, is the oldest, continuously used chapel at West Point, and the only house of worship owned by the Catholic Church on U.S. Government property. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, West Point alum Martin H. Joyce III tells what he discovered about the chapel in research for a just-published book.

In July, the Reverend Monsignor Anthony R. Frontiero, S.T.D., took office as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). In this edition of Catholic Military Life, Msgr. Frontiero introduces himself and reflects on his remarkable journey as a man of God and the new day-to-day leader of AMS operations, clergy, and staff.

Father Anthony Williams, a retired U.S. Air Force chaplain and priest of the Diocese of Kansas City, knows first-hand the truth behind the old maxim, "It's not where you start--it's where you finish that counts." Although raised protestant Father Williams converted to Catholicism as a young airman and eventually discovered his vocation. He shares his faith journey in this edition of Catholic Military Life.

The application period is now open for U.S. servicemen and women and veterans--particularly those suffering from wounds of war--to apply for an all-expenses paid journey to Lourdes, France, in May 2024. The Warriors to Lourdes journey coincides with the annual International Military Pilgrimage there. In the Sept. 25 edition of Catholic Military Life, Col. Chuck Gallina, USMC (Ret.), of the Knights of Columbus shares details, along with some old war stories from his four tours in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s.

In this edition of Catholic Military Life, a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, retired Four-Star Admiral William J. Fallon shares his experience at the Pentagon on 9/11 and other stories from his 41 years in the U.S. Navy. And he invites all to the Pilgrimage for the Sea Services Mass on Sunday, Oct. 1, at 3:30 p.m. EDST at the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 339 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727.

With the annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, Servant of God, coming up on Sept. 5, Mr. Bob Pinkerton, a former U.S. Marine who served with Father Capodanno in Vietnam, recalls his experiences with the Vietnam War hero chaplain in this edition of Catholic Military Life.

Kristina M. Hughes, (2LT) USA, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, took a break from graduate studies in the U.K. the first week of August, 2023, to visit Portugal for World Youth Day. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, Lt. Hughes tells how her experience has inspired her in her pursuit of a military career.

Assistant U.S. Attorney and self-described "Army brat" Sarah Wannarka re-discovered her respect for Catholic U.S. Military chaplains when she did tours in Afghanistan to coach local prosecutors. She shares her story in this edition of Catholic Military Life, a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Raising girls in the Catholic faith can be a challenge for families in today's increasingly secular society where even traditional notions of scouting are in flux, but as U.S. Air Force wife and mother Sherry Ohotnicky explains in this edition of Catholic Military Life, support can be found in the character development organization, American Heritage Girls.

A new book, Navigating Leadership: Making a Pact with Excellence, is billed on Amazon as must-read material for anyone seeking to become an exceptional leader. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, the author, Catholic Rear Admiral Garry E. Hall, USN (Ret.), shares how the qualities of passion, accountability, commitment, and traits and traditions are essential to effective leadership.

Catholic youth involved in scouting can earn religious emblems alongside their merit badges as a way of developing their understanding and practice of Catholic faith. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Father Dan Goulet, CH (MAJ), USA, the archdiocese's scouting chaplain, explains.

On the weekend of Pentecost in 2024, four groups of 12 pilgrims will set out from four corners of the United States for Indianapolis, IN, with plans to arrive in time for the July 17-21 National Eucharistic Congress. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, a podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, organizer Will Peterson shares the meaning of the pilgrimage and how you can join.

The Evangelization Office of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, is initiating a new program for sending missionary disciples to live at U.S. Military bases where they will work to make fishers of young adult servicemen and women. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the first two disciples to answer the call, Ms. Stephanie Nussio and Ms. Jurate Reventas, share plans for their upcoming assignment to Travis Air Force Base in California.

In 1966 when U.S. Marine Private First Class Joseph Frank Simpson arrived in Vietnam at the age of 19, there to greet him at a grass-hut makeshift chapel was Father Vincent R. Capodanno, CH, LT, USN. Father Capodanno's words of counsel and encouragement helped PFC Simpson orient himself to his new surroundings, just months before the priest died a heroic death coming to the aid of embattled Marines. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, Mr. Simpson shares his memories of the priest hero who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his bravery and whose Cause for Canonization is under consideration by the Catholic Church.