New Priest Ordained in Colorado Anticipates Active-Duty Service as U.S. Army Chaplain

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Father Patrick G. DiLoreto, (1 Lt), USAR, a candidate for United States Military chaplaincy, was ordained a priest on Saturday, June 8, in his home Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO. The new priest hopes eventually to serve as a Catholic chaplain in the U.S. Army providing pastoral care to Catholic soldiers and their families with endorsement and faculties from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS).

Father DiLoreto’s priestly ordination was celebrated at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in Colorado Springs through the laying of hands and the prayer of consecration invoking the Holy Spirit by Bishop James R. Golka. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, concelebrated the 10:00 a.m. ordination Mass. Among those in attendance were the new priest’s parents, Vince and Donna DiLoreto. His brothers Jason, Paul, Daniel, and Phillip DiLoreto also attended, along with their wives and children.

Father DiLoreto, 31, is a 2011 graduate of Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, CO. In 2015, he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the University of Northern Colorado. For three years, he served in the Colorado Army National Guard. He completed his seminary education and earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv) Degree at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. Under his co-sponsored seminarian agreement with the AMS and the Diocese of Colorado Springs, Father DiLoreto will spend the next three years honing his pastoral skills as a diocesan priest in his home Diocese of Colorado Springs before acceding to active duty as an Army chaplain.

Commenting on his upcoming priestly service, Father DiLoreto said, “I'm eagerly looking forward to celebrating the Mass and absolving sins in the confessional.  I want to help lead people to God, to encounter His mercy.” 

The eventual priestly military service of Father DiLoreto and other Catholic chaplain candidates is greatly anticipated by the Army, which, like all other branches of the U.S. Military, continues to suffer a chronic shortage of Catholic chaplains. Currently, only 82 priests are on active duty in the Army, serving more than 250,000 Catholic soldiers spread worldwide, not counting their families, whom Army chaplains also serve.

Young men interested in discerning a priestly vocation, and the vocation within a vocation to serve those who serve in the U.S. military, can find more information at milarch.org/vocations, or may contact AMS Vocations Director Father Marcel Taillon at vocations@milarch.org or (202) 719-3600.