Father Marcel Taillon Winds Up Term as Interim Vocations Director

WASHINGTON, DC — Father Marcel Taillon has completed his brief but consequential term as interim Vocations Director for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS). Father Taillon, who joined the AMS on April 15, will return this month—as planned—to his home Diocese of Providence. By Christmas he will resume his role as pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish in Narragansett, RI.

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, expressed appreciation to Father Taillon for his service, guiding young men discerning the “vocation within a vocation” to priesthood and military chaplaincy.

Archbishop Broglio said: “I am very grateful for the enthusiasm and the expert ministry that Father Taillon offered in a few, but very intense months. The numbers at the fall discernment retreat speak for themselves, but more importantly, this dedicated, fine priest quickly grasped the needs of the Archdiocese, the challenges of her ministry, and how to communicate both. He will be missed, but I am grateful to Archbishop Henning and the Diocese of Providence for the time he was able to serve the AMS.”

As AMS Vocations Director, Father Taillon mentored record numbers of prospective priests and military chaplains through two four-day discernment retreats. He counseled substantial numbers of servicemen, already on active duty, discerning a possible vocation. He expanded to 35 the number of men enrolled in the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program, a vocations partnership between the AMS and partner dioceses throughout the United States. Seven new priests and eight new transitional deacons were ordained this year on his watch.

While Father Taillon looks forward to returning to Rhode Island, he will greatly miss ushering in a new generation of Catholic priests to celebrate and safeguard the practice of faith in the U.S. Military:

“I was astonished at the substantial number of active-duty servicemen who are actively discerning from all the branches all over the world. The most inspiring part of the ministry has been knowing our co-sponsored seminarians who are spiritually mature in their answering a call within a call. They have tremendous maturity and depth and a profound respect for those they are preparing to serve who serve us. The future of the chaplain core is full of hope.”

Father Taillon, 59, came to the AMS with plenty of experience as a vocations director and recruiter in his home Diocese of Providence, where he was director of spiritual formation at Our Lady of Providence Seminary. Father Tallion had served as pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish in Narragansett for 17 years before moving to Washington as AMS Vocations Director on an interim basis, succeeding Father S. Matthew Gray, Ch, Capt, USAF, who was unexpectedly called back to his home Diocese of Charleston, SC, before deploying to the Middle East with the South Carolina Air National Guard. In Rhode Island, Father Taillon had also served as a chaplain for the Narragansett Police and Fire Departments and the South Kingstown Police Department. He will continue in his longtime role as Catholic program host on Relevant Radio, helping pursue its mission “to bring Christ to the world through the media.”

A cradle Catholic born in Woonsocket, RI, once known as “the most French city in the United States,” Father Taillon began to discern his own vocation in his 20s while traveling the country as a pharmacy operations analyst for CVS. He was ordained a priest in Providence on Sept. 1, 1994, following five years of formational study at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Fluent in French and Italian, Father Taillon holds a Degree of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (“the Angelicum”), a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of St. John Lateran, and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and the Humanities from Providence College.

Archbishop Broglio will name Father Taillon's successor as AMS Vocations Director at a later date.