Parishioners, family and friends gathered at the chapel on board Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor as the Archbishop of Military Services USA,
Timothy Paul Broglio, bestowed upon 34 people the sacrament of confirmation at mass Sept 27.
Confirmation is the second of three sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church, with the first being Baptism and the third being
Communion.
“You have baptism, then the holy spirit with confirmation which lets us go out and be a part of the world,” said Joe Huber, member of
the St. Olaf Assembly Knights of Columbus, post 2433, who were acting as honor guardsmen for Broglio. “I was confirmed in 1939,
so when I was watching everyone getting confirmed, it brought me back to being seven years old in New York going through the same
thing.”
Broglio oversees and, in fact, passes on the detailing of priests from the Roman Catholic Church to the military, said Rear Adm. James
A. Symonds, commander Navy Region Northwest.
“It’s critical that he understands what those priests are doing, what they are dealing with on a daily basis,” continued Symonds.
“I appreciate very much that he gets out and learns for himself, because he is not a military man, this is his first posting that is associated
with the military.”
Broglio, who is based in Washington D.C., spent the weekend at services as well as meeting with local military commanders to ensure that
the needs of Roman Catholics in the Navy are met.
“The joys of what I do are obviously the people, the pastoral contact, the possibility to celebrate the sacrament with my flock and the ability
also to see different installations and what my people are engaged in,” said Broglio. “The celebrations, in particular the possibility to complete
the initiation of Catholics in their faith, these are some of the high points of my year.”
NBK Commanding Officer, Capt. Mark Olson, was grateful to host the archbishop, who was installed Jan. 25 during the feast of the
conversion of St. Paul.
“There are over 200 bases that he gets to visit and is responsible for all of the military, so for him to come here so early in his tenure is really
quite amazing,” said Capt. Mark Olson, NBK commanding officer.