What are Military Chaplains?
Diocesan or Religious Priests who are “on loan” to the Military Ordinariate of Great Britain. With its own bishop, the Ordinariate provides Catholic Chaplains to the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force. With their Bishop or Religious Superior’s permission, chaplains serve for a minimum of 3 years with the possibility of serving until the age of 60yrs. After this, they are expected to return to their Diocese or Congregation. Father O’Keeffe speaks to the troops before going into battle (Iraq War, 2003) Being a Military Chaplain is a vocation to a specialist ministry. All the pastoral skills learnt in the Parish are needed to minister to Service Personnel. The Military Ordinariate asks for at least 3 years of post-ordination parish experience prior to becoming a Military Chaplain. What is the Training/Formation? You’ll need to undergo about 1 month of basic military training before being appointed to a Regiment/Ship/Base as the Chaplain/Padre. The military training is demanding
