FSSP Begins First Military Chaplaincy

It’s the first time it’s happened for our Fraternity: an apostolate in a military archdiocese, or in this case, a military ordinariate – the Military Ordinariate of Canada, to be exact. Fr. Kenneth Webb, FSSP, most recently the pastor of St. Aloysius Parish, our apostolate in the diocese of St. Catharines, Ontario, took up his new assignment as a full-time military chaplain stationed at the Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) on August 1st. The Ordinariate works in much the same way as our Archdiocese for the Military Services, in that it is overseen by a bishop and, rather than being bounded by borders, extends to wherever members of the Canadian armed forces serve, at home or abroad. The chaplains who serve within it remain incardinated in their home dioceses or communities, but sometimes (unlike the US) they are incardinated in the ordinariate itself. In this case, Fr. Webb will remain a member of the Fraternity while serving full-time as a military chaplain.

Of course, the Fraternity is no stranger to military ministry, at least on the US side of the border – several of our parishes are situated close to US bases and hence count military families among their parishioners. But with Fr. Webb’s new assignment, a Fraternity priest will be serving for the first time as a full-time military chaplain on a military installation.

We’ll be checking in with Fr. Webb a little later in the year to learn more about his work with the Support Unit. ‘Til then, please pray for him, the military personnel he will be serving and for our success in this new venture. +