CINCINNATI — Diocese of Charlotte seminarian Darren Balkey, in formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology, recently took the oath of office and received his commission to the U.S. Navy. He is now a Chaplain Candidate Program Officer with the rank of ensign.
Ensign Balkey knew from a young age that he wanted to devote his life to Christ, and his path to military service was similar. His interest in becoming a chaplain was something he shared with his vocations director prior to entering the seminary. After high school, he attended Belmont Abbey College before completing pre-theology studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He is currently enrolled as a third-year seminarian at Mount St. Mary’s.
As a Chaplain Candidate Program Officer, he remains sponsored by the Charlotte diocese to continue his preparation for the priesthood and is also co-sponsored as a seminarian of the Archdiocese for the Military Services.
“I’m excited and nervous about the thought of becoming a chaplain because I’ll be providing spiritual strength and moral counsel in some of the most difficult situations by offering the most important healing remedies – the sacraments,” Ensign Balkey explained. “I’ll be helping to bring Christ to men and women dealing with a variety of issues from combat trauma and family issues to the stress of deployment and post-traumatic stress disorder.”
The next step for him is to complete a five-week officer training session, which he hopes to do next summer.
He will continue pursuit of a Master of Divinity at Mount St. Mary’s in preparation for his ordination in 2022.
After ordination, he will be assigned to priestly ministry for three years in the Charlotte diocese.
Then he will be eligible for active-duty service as a U.S. Navy chaplain. At that point, he could be assigned to a Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard unit, shepherding service members and their families.
The Navy requests 250 Catholic chaplains based on the number of active-duty men and women and their families in all of these branches combined, but there are currently fewer than 50 Catholic priests available as active-duty chaplains.
In addition to Ensign Balkey, Mount St. Mary’s has three other seminarians preparing for service as military chaplains, one for the U.S. Army and two for the U.S. Air Force.
The Archdiocese for the Military Services is entrusted with the pastoral care of 1.8 million Catholics in the U.S. and around the world. It is the sole endorsing agent recognized under U.S. law and the Department of Defense to endorse Catholic priests to minister in the U.S. Armed Forces and Department of Veterans Affairs.
Besides receiving the AMS endorsement, priests must meet all the military requirements to be commissioned as officers.
— Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology