WASHINGTON, DC — Help wanted! The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), is hiring Catholic young adults to serve on Team Saint Paul, a fledgling group of missionaries assigned to build the faith among peers at U.S. Military installations.
Team Saint Paul, which the AMS launched a year ago as part of the Church-wide New Evangelization, is growing. On Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, commissioned two new members in the daily noon Mass at the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center, the AMS home base in the Nation’s Capital.
Ms. Regina Fontana and Ms. Caroline McDermott both received commissions to join Team Saint Paul at Travis Air Force Base in California, where the first two members, Ms. Stephanie Nussio and Ms. Jurate Reventas have spent the summer setting up Team Saint Paul, the first of its kind in the AMS, the Catholic Church’s only truly global archdiocese. The AMS Office of Evangelization, under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Mark Moitoza, Th.D., D.Min., and Young Adult Missionary Coordinator McKenzie Mauss, hopes to place new members on other U.S. Military installations in the months and years ahead as Team Saint Paul shifts into high gear and expands.
Membership in Team Saint Paul is a full-time ministry position. Required qualifications include either a bachelor’s degree or four years of active-duty military service, good standing in the Church, and an active spiritual life.
According to the job description on the AMS website, milarch.org/missionaries, the mission of Team Saint Paul is “to accompany Catholic young adults serving in the military through authentic relationships that grow into discipleship with Christ.” The missionary’s role is “to form, support, and embolden the military young adult community, ages 18-29 years old, who serve our country as Catholic leaders,” acting on the “pillars” of “prayer, community, formation, and accompaniment. Each day is ordered around prayer and the sacraments. Missionaries commit to spending an hour in personal prayer, attending daily Mass, and cultivating fellowship with one another. AMS missionaries embed themselves into the life of the military Catholic faith community to encourage the mission of evangelization.”
In keeping with their job duties, which include completion of Team Saint Paul Missionary Training in Washington prior to arrival on their assigned military installation, Ms. Fontana and Ms. McDermott spent two weeks in DC. The training commenced with the Sept. 5 Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, followed by a three-day workshop on evangelization, the experience of conducting a Bible study and fellowship session with military young adults at Joint Base Andrews, and participation in a series of presentations by AMS clergy and staff on a myriad of topics ranging from “personal union with Christ” to “military culture.”
Commenting on their new roles, Ms. Fontana, a Texas native and graduate of Tarleton State University, said, “I am excited to join Team Saint Paul because I believe in the mission to serve those who serve. The Lord has blessed my life in many ways and if He can somehow use me to share His love, then so be it. I cannot wait to see how the Lord uniquely uses each of us for His greater glory.” Ms. McDermott, a native of Pennsylvania, graduate of Christendom College, niece of a Catholic U.S. Army chaplain, and sister of an active-duty soldier, said, “Given this opportunity and mission, I am beyond grateful and excited to take what I have learned through my life and transfer it as a witness of Christ. And my conviction in Him gives me the drive to be a ministry of presence.”
Anyone who, like Ms. Fontana and Ms. McDermott, would like to join Team Saint Paul must have, like them, the ability to communicate well with others, good interpersonal skills, and self-motivation. Single and married individuals will be considered and all candidates will be subject to a background check. For more information, and to apply to be a member of Team Saint Paul, visit milarch.org/missionaries.
