U.S. Military Catholics Cast Big Presence at Twin-Site SEEK25 Conference

WASHINGTON, DC – Fresh from a Christmas pastoral visit with U.S. Military personnel in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf Region of the Middle East, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, was back in the Nation’s Capital on Thursday, Jan. 2, to welcome cadets, midshipmen, and others to SEEK25, a faith-building conference for college students held each year by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). This year, for the first time, the SEEK Conference was held simultaneously Jan. 1-5 in two locations. More than seventeen-thousand students and parishioners attended in Salt Lake City, UT, while over 3,000 participated in Washington. Following a whirlwind tour visiting troops, military chaplains, and senior officers in Djibouti, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, Archbishop Broglio returned to America just in time to participate in the DC setting of the two-site Conference.

Reflecting on the event, Archbishop Broglio said, ”It is always energizing to spend time with young men and women on fire with their faith.  The presentations are excellent, but even more exciting is the eagerness and faith-filled response of the attendees.  I was also pleased to see so many from the military academies and ROTC present at the event,”

Mark Moitoza, Th.D, D.Min., Vice-Chancellor for Evangelization of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), led AMS participation in Salt Lake. Dr. Moitoza commented, “Having two locations for SEEK this year presented unique challenges. Coordinating presenters at both locations, however, was important. Gathering participants from the academies along with ROTC cadets affords future leaders in the military the opportunity to recognize the need for drawing strength from the Catholic faith to be effective in their service. Both gatherings shared the need for priests in all branches of the military. Many follow-up conversations ensued. The annual SEEK conference provides hope as many young people spend five days praying and being enriched by keynotes, workshops, adoration, confession, and daily Mass.” He added, “These are long but productive days full of conversations with eager young people seeking ways to live out the faith through witness and service.”

At the Washington Hilton on Friday, 160 SEEK participants including cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, the Coast Guard Academy at New London, CT, and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs on East Coast college campuses, along with midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, were personally welcomed by Archbishop Broglio. Retired U.S. Army Chaplain and West Point alumnus Father Matthew P. Pawlikowski, CH (COL), USA (Ret.), currently serving at West Point, offered insights and fielded questions on the practice of faith in military life. Drawing on his 20-year experience as an active-duty Army chaplain, Father Pawlikowski reflected on how to live the Catholic faith among a diverse military population while meeting the high demands of military service. Ms. McKenzie Mauss, AMS Associate Director for Missionary Discipleship, invited young people to consider joining Team Saint Paul, a fast-growing group of laymen and women assigned by the AMS to support chaplains in young adult ministry.

Just two hours later, the AMS hosted a similar gathering at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City with more than 130 participants, including cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Spring, CO, ROTC cadets enrolled at colleges and universities throughout the Western United States, and others interested in learning about living the Catholic faith in the military. Father Marcel Taillon, former AMS Vocations Director, led the opening prayer and explained the AMS mission, Serving Those Who Serve. Three of the U.S. Defense Department’s chaplain recruiters, one each from the Navy, Army, and Air Force—Fathers David J. Hammond, CHC, LCDR, USN, Jeffrey A. Paveglio, CH (CPT), USA, and Nicholas J. Reid, Ch Capt USAF—shared thoughts on the importance of having priests serve Catholics in all branches of the military.

The AMS hosted an exhibit booth in Salt Lake to raise awareness of the AMS mission, encourage priests and seminarians to consider the "vocation with a vocation" of military chaplaincy, and invite those discerning a vocation to think about seeking enrollment the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program—each in partnership with his home diocese or religious community and the AMS—and welcome lay people to explore joining Team Saint Paul to serve in a faith support role on a military installation. Father Peter Pomposello, CH (MAJ) USA, affectionately known as “Father Uncle Sam” for his prodigious influence on young men discerning priesthood and military chaplaincy, came all the way to Salt Lake from his duty station at Fort Liberty, NC, where he serves as the senior chaplain, to assist at the AMS exhibit booth.

During a half-hour presentation, Father Pomposello also strongly encouraged SEEK participants to consider joining Team Saint Paul. He shared his desire to have at least four team members assigned to the large Army post where he serves. Mr. Dominic Counihan, a co-sponsored seminarian, spoke of the dire need for more priests in the military, where Catholic chaplains are in chronically short supply. The presentation was followed by a question-answer session. Father Paul Halladay, CH (MAJ), USA (Ret.), led the closing prayer on the same day Archbishop Broglio named him the new AMS Director of Vocations.