CV NEWS FEED // A U.S. Army veteran who was ordained a priest on June 1 now plans to return to active duty as an army chaplain, ready to fulfill his “vocation within a vocation.”
According to a news release from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Fr. Colin Patrick was ordained in his home Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia by Archbishop Gregory Hartmeyer, OFM Conv. He served in the army from 2012 to 2017, and said that his time of active duty challenged his faith and helped him grow.
“My experiences in the army – from Ranger School to Afghanistan – challenged my ‘cradle’ Catholic faith, but it was ultimately this real faith in Christ that helped me get through the daily grind,” Fr. Patrick said, according to the archdiocesan news release. “Through these experiences, Christ confirmed my vocation and led me to seminary.”
Fr. Patrick added that a former West Point chaplain, Fr. Matthew Pawlikowski, influenced his decision to become a chaplain.
“Once he corrected a uniform infraction of mine while I was trying to see him for confession as a plebe,” Fr. Patrick said. “I knew from that moment I was meeting with not only a Holy man of God, but also a Soldier!”
According to the news release, Fr. Patrick will be a diocesan priest in Atlanta for three years before returning to the army as a chaplain.
Fr. Patrick’s chaplaincy will be welcomed by the army, as both the army and other branches of the military have experienced shortages of chaplains to minister to the thousands of active duty Catholics.
According to the news release, the army only has 84 Catholic priests on active duty, who serve “more than a quarter-million Catholic soldiers, reservists, and National Guardsmen spread worldwide.”
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