The Pilgrimage Begins

BY BISHOP NEAL J. BUCKON

THE VANDENBERG AFB CONFIRMATION CLASS WITH FATHER ARTHUR NAJERA, FAR LEFT; BISHOP BUCKON, CENTER; FATHER KHOI TRAN, FAR RIGHT.

Every September, I begin a ten-month-long pilgrimage that takes me to the Catholic communities of faith located in our chapels on Department of Defense installations in the Western Region of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Port Hueneme, CA, was the first stop on this 19-day road trip. The West Coast Naval Construction Battalion Center (CBC) is home to over 20 active and reserve Seabee Battalions. Father Antony Berchmanz is a contract priest who singlehandedly serves as the Pastor, the Catholic Parish Life Coordinator (CPLC), and Coordinator of Religious Education (CRE). The highlight of the pastoral visit was the celebration of a ritual Mass for the sacrament of confirmation. For seven members of the CBC’s Catholic community, it was a personal Pentecost.

The following day I traveled north toVandenberg AFBto spend the weekend with the Catholic community. The congregation now has members that are Airmen from the Air Force and Guardians from the Space Force and their families. Chaplain (Captain) Khoi V. Tran and Father Arthur Najera

officially welcomed me to town. Father Tran is newly accessed to the Air Force, and his first assignment is to the Space Launch Delta 30 at Vandenberg AFB. It was a great joy for me to confirm seven young and enthused teenagers amid their faithful community at the Sunday morning Mass. On Monday morning, I had an office call with Colonel Robert A. Long, Commander, Space Launch Delta 30, and the Vandenberg Western Launch and Test Range. I asked him what it was like to command a spaceport, and we conversed about this historical time of standing up the Space Force.

In Monterey, CA, I visited the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), where Father Dominic Castro, a contract priest, gave me a deskside brief. He informed me of his mission and ministry at the NPS and the Presidio of Monterey, the Defense Language Institute. After the brief, we went to the Army’s chapel at the Presidio, where we were met by the Garrison Chaplain, Chaplain (Colonel) Joseph Fleury. Father Fleury is the oldest soldier in the Army! Next, the confirmation celebration featured a single candidate who had to respond to my questions by herself. I told her that she could dial a priest if she needed some help. We were all impressed by the candidate’s poise and knowledge as she answered each question in a clear and concise manner!

I arrived at Beale AFB and was greeted by Chaplain (Major) Mario Rosario, Deputy Wing Chaplain, and Father Michael Kiernan, the contract priest. Paulette Comeaux-Padua, the CRE, served up lunch, and the four of us exchanged information. The two priests concelebrated the confirmation Mass.

My next destination was Travis AFB. Father Jeff Henry, a GS priest, welcomed me back to the base where he has been ministering for seven years in the chapel and, in the hospital, where he effectively performs pastoral care to the sick and the dying. In addition, Mr. Roger Olaes has been energetically serving as the CPLC and the CRE. During our celebration of Sunday’s second Sacred Liturgy, we celebrated the Sacrament of confirmation.

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NAWS CHINA LAKE L-R: FATHER SANTIAGO IRIARTE, BISHOP BUCKON AND FATHER JIM DOWDS.

I followed a route eastward over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and headed south to the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake. Father James Dowds, C.Ss.R., is the contract priest at China Lake. The Catholic community at China Lake is currently without a chapel, because an earthquake damaged it and the new multi-purpose structure is under construction. In the meantime, Club Paradise is providing the space, and Sunday Masses are being celebrated. On 30 September 2021, we celebrated a confirmation Mass there. Father Santiago Iriarte, the Pastor of St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Ridgecrest, concelebrated the confirmation Mass, and we enjoyed a reunion. Twenty years ago, we were both assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart. He was a Chaplain Assistant to the Calvary Squadron Chaplain, and I was the DIVARTY Chaplain. I told him that I knew he had a vocation to the priesthood!

I then proceeded to Las Vegas and flew to Maryland to be the celebrant and the homilist for the Annual Sea Services Pilgrimage to the National Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, MD. Bishop Joseph Coffey, Father Luke Dundon, and Father Donelson Thevenin concelebrated the Mass attended by 350 people. The standout choir from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis led the congregation in song. The Sea Services Mass was broadcast on EWTN for the first time. I am what is called a “Landlubber,” and it was an honor for me to participate in the annual pilgrimage conducted by members of our Nation’s Sea Services.

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THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY MIDSHIPMEN CHOIR

SEA SERVICES MASS

I returned to Las Vegas and concluded the road trip with a pastoral visit to the Catholic community at Nellis AFB. Father Luis Barrera is the contract priest. He works with Deacon Tim Byrnes, Ignacia Quinata (CRE), and Hanna Sims (CPLC) to implement a comprehensive and robust Catholic program for all those who live, work, serve, and train at this premier Air Force Base.

All of our Catholic communities are coping with the constraints of the COVID-19 Pandemic. They endeavor to keep our chapels open as an oases of peace as they mitigate against the spread of the disease. I enjoy every pastoral visit because I can clearly see how the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of the faithful. V 22

Former U.S. Air Force Chief of Chaplains Monsignor John P. McDonough Ends Earthly Pilgrimage

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), celebrates the life and service of Monsignor John P. McDonough, Maj Gen USAF (Ret). Monsignor McDonough, a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston who served as U.S. Air Force Chief of Chaplains from 1988 to 1991 – most notably during the first Gulf War – ended his earthly pilgrimage on 17 November. He died at the Regina Cleri Residence for Retired Priests in Boston, where he had lived and served as a chaplain since 2014 after years of civilian pastoral service following his retirement from the Air Force in December 1991. He was 93.

Monsignor McDonough's Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on 2 December at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Milton, MA. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, concelebrated the Mass with Boston Archbishop Seán Cardinal O'Malley and some 70 other priests. Please continue to pray for the repose of his soul and the consolation of his family. Monsignor McDonough, whose Air Force career spanned 28 years, was laid to rest at Milton Cemetery south of Boston. Donations may be made in Monsignor McDonough’s memory to https://www.milarch.org/donate/.