4 minute read
The Harvest Continues
(ARCH)DIOCESE / RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY: Fort Worth, TX
ARMED FORCES BRANCH: Navy
RANK: COLLEGE(S) / UNIVERSITY(IES) / SEMINARY(IES) ATTENDED (DEGREES AWARDED):
Holy Trinity Seminary/University of Dallas, Saint Joseph Seminary College, Theological College/ Catholic University of America.
HIGH SCHOOL(S) ATTENDED:
Keller High School
HOBBIES: Reading, Pool, Darts, Ping Pong, and Woodworking.
TEAM SPORTS: Soccer
WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE A VOCATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD?
I first began discerning the priesthood while attending a retreat my junior year of high school.
WHO OR WHAT EVENTS INFLUENCED YOUR DISCERNMENT JOURNEY?
Father Kyle Walterscheid, Vocation Director for Fort Worth at the time, and my parish priests, Monsignor James Hart and Father Dennis Smith, were very influential. My youth minister and confirmation sponsor were also important.
WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU?
People are often surprised when I say I enjoy reading fiction, particularly plays and poetry. 34
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SCRIPTURE PASSAGE, WHY?
“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:5). Its imagery, and that of the whole Prologue, is very beautiful and inspires perseverance and trust in God.
HOW DID YOU COME TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST PERSONALLY?
My relationship with Jesus developed greatly when I began altar serving in middle school.
WHAT SPIRITUAL EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES HELPED YOU DEVELOP AND SHARE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH?
During confirmation preparation, as a sophomore in high school, I came to know more about Christ and love Him more. The retreat my junior year, when I began discerning, was also important.
WHAT SAINTS OR CHURCH LEADERS INSPIRED YOUR DISCERNMENT JOURNEY?
Saint Thomas Aquinas has been a major figure in my spiritual life. His love of Christ and devotion, both spiritually and intellectually, are very influential for me.
WHAT WAS THE BACKGROUND BEFORE APPLYING TO BE A SEMINARIAN?
I entered seminary directly after graduating high school.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
I am currently reading the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens and Faith Formation in a Secular Age by Andrew Root.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPIRITUAL BOOK?
My favorites are anything by Fulton Sheen or Benedict XVI. If I had to pick one, I would probably say Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth.
WHO ARE YOUR HEROES OR PEOPLE YOU SIGNIFICANTLY ADMIRE?
In particular, I admire Thomas Aquinas. I began to take my faith seriously and entered seminary during Benedict XVI’s papacy. His writings and talks were very influential. J. R. R. Tolkien has become more and more prominent in my life as well.
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE YOUR PRAYER LIFE?
My prayer life is primarily rooted in the breviary and a daily holy hour. As I progress further in seminary, I have found great peace and surety. V Spring 2021 | 35
World War II Chaplain Hero Father Thomas Conway Posthumously Awarded Navy Cross
BY TAYLOR HENRY
Father Thomas Conway, CHC, LT, USN, a diocesan priest of Buffalo, NY, was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross on 8 January 2021 in his hometown of Waterbury, CT. The Navy Cross is the second-highest military decoration in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. The medal is awarded to Sailors or Marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force.
Father Conway received the award for his bravery following the 30 July 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on which he served as a Catholic chaplain. A Japanese submarine torpedoed the Portland class heavy cruiser shortly after midnight in the Philippine Sea, tossing hundreds who survived the initial explosion overboard.
For three days in shark-infested waters without food, drink, or shade, Father Conway, 37, heroically swam back and forth between groups of survivors, offering comfort, prayers, baptism, last rites, and encouragement to keep the faith and not lose hope of eventual rescue. Help did finally come, but by then, the priest hero was lost. According to detailed accounts, at least 67 Sailors among those rescued survived thanks to Chaplain Conway’s support, assistance, encouragement, and grace under brutal circumstances. During the 2:00 p.m. award ceremony at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Monsignor John Blevins, a retired Navy chaplain and former pastor at the Basilica, received the medal on behalf
of Father Conway, who was baptized there and graduated from the Basilica’s grammar school. Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite said, “Father Conway wasn’t a young man, but he gave his all in his duty as he swam from group to group. Three and a half days in the water. Nothing to drink. Nothing to eat. And yet he went on.”
Father Conway stands among an elite group of Catholic priests who have received some of the U.S. Military’s highest decorations for their bravery in action. Since the Civil War, all five U.S. Military Chaplains who have received the nation’s top military honor, the Medal of Honor, were Catholic priests: Fathers Joseph O’Callahan, Emil Kapaun, Vincent Capodanno, Charles Watters, and Charles Liteky.
For many years the Navy held off awarding Father Conway the Navy Cross because none of the priesthero’s senior officers were still living to endorse the award, as required by Navy Rules. In 2014, though, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (DCT), joined by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), introduced a Senate resolution presenting new evidence and documentation about Father Conway’s service record in the Navy. Those efforts led eventually to the presentation on Friday.
His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, commented on the presentation of the Navy Cross to Father Conway: “This exemplary Navy Chaplain demonstrates on a grand scale what chaplains do every day. They put service and the needs of others before self. I am grateful for this belated recognition for Father Conway, and chaplains everywhere can find encouragement in his heroism.” V
