The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines opened its 40th anniversary celebration Friday with a renewed call to strengthen its mission of serving soldiers, police officers, and other uniformed personnel through spiritual care and moral guidance.
Leading the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola Mass at St. Ignatius Cathedral, papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown said military chaplains are called to serve others with generosity, following Christ instead of seeking personal gain or comfort.
“We should always ask ourselves: Whom are we serving?” Brown said. “We should not be serving ourselves. We should be serving others and seeing Christ in others.”
The Vatican envoy traced the ministry of military chaplains to St. Martin of Tours, the Roman soldier who shared his cloak with a poor man before becoming a bishop.
“That is what it means to serve as a chaplain: to have eyes that distinguish, that discern, the presence of Jesus in others,” Brown said. “When we serve others as chaplains, we are serving Christ.”
He praised the ordinariate for four decades of service, saying its chaplains have brought the church’s presence to members of the country’s armed and uniformed services.
Before the Mass, Brown and Military Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio unveiled the official marker for the ordinariate’s 40th anniversary, formally opening its yearlong celebration.
The ordinariate’s mission extends well beyond the sacraments, spokesperson Msgr. John Brillantes said in an interview with Radyo Veritas, noting that it also includes guiding soldiers, police officers and their families through moral and spiritual formation.
“Our mission is truly extensive,” Brillantes said. “More specifically, it is to provide for the spiritual and moral welfare of our soldiers and our uniformed men and women.”
The ordinariate now has about 180 active priests, Brillantes said, including 122 who completed their formation and ordination through its own seminary after 1986.
Military chaplains also serve as advisers to commanders, teachers in military schools, crisis negotiators and bridges between military units and civilian communities, he said.
“We emphasize the need to listen to our people and to walk with them,” he said. “You listen to the soldiers, you listen to their families.”
He asked the faithful to pray for soldiers and other uniformed personnel serving in difficult assignments, especially those stationed in remote areas such as Pag-asa Island and Batanes.
“We enjoy the freedom and security of our nation because of the sacrifices of these brave men and women,” Brillantes said.
The Vatican also granted a plenary indulgence for the faithful who visit designated Jubilee churches of the Military Ordinariate and meet the usual spiritual conditions during the anniversary celebration.
The Military Ordinariate began as the Military Vicariate in 1950 under Pope Pius XII and became a military ordinariate — equivalent to a diocese — in 1986 under St. John Paul II’s “Spirituali Militum Curae.”
