Father Hilary Ike, a priest of the diocese, was deployed at the beginning of this month for service as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserves at the country’s southern border.
The priest, who serves in the diocese’s tribunal, which hears cases of marriage nullity, was commissioned in the U.S. Army in November 2019.
He has participated in monthly trainings and now faces his first deployment.
“I’m grateful to the Diocese of Columbus for giving me this opportunity and letting me exercise this priestly ministry in this way,” Father Ike said.
He expressed interest in joining the military after helping celebrate a Mass for soldiers.
“I saw a lot of young people,” he recalled. “Coming up close, I felt that there is a need here, and it’s not often they find a Catholic priest – they have chaplains but not often Catholic chaplains – so I just thought about how helpful it would be to render this ministry to these young people, especially in those kind of critical situations of serving as soldiers.
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“I can’t say I have regretted any of that decision because I’ve always seen how much the presence of a chaplain is needed: the pastoral care, the ethical leadership, the religious support that we render and the presence, just being present among these young ones.”
Father Ike, who is a native of Nigeria and came to the Columbus diocese in 2012, mirrors U.S. Army soldiers in nearly every aspect, including training. Unlike soldiers, however, he cannot bear arms.
He celebrates the Church’s sacraments, including the Eucharist, for soldiers. “I always tell the few gathered, ‘Don’t worry that we have few here; we are offering this Mass for all the soldiers in our rank and file,’” he said, “so it’s an opportunity to offer the Mass in a military base or in the field or wherever we find ourselves.”
Father Ike also offers pastoral care, counseling men and women in the service. He typically provides about 60 individual counseling sessions during a single training period.
“We try to have contact with as many soldiers as possible within a particular gathering because we only get them once a month,” he said of the trainings. “And then, we continue to follow up with them by phone.”
Father Ike will continue to provide spiritual support and counseling during deployment.
“I feel I have been trained and I have enough experience to provide that, so I’m not afraid of what it will be,” he said of his new assignment. “On arrival, we’ll see the whole plan and what we can plug our capabilities into.”
Father Ike will reside on the U.S. Army’s base near the southern border. He chose to live in the barracks, a group of buildings used by the military for housing, rather than off base.
He will serve in a unit ministry team as a brigade chaplain, meaning he will render support at the brigade level.
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The U.S. Army is divided in units based on size. Brigades average between 2,000 and 5,000 soldiers. A brigade is split into three to five battalions, which are smaller in size.
Catholic chaplains, are few and far between, he said, “so I may not expect to have a Catholic chaplain in the same area, but there will be other chaplains.”
Providing soldiers with a priestly presence is largely why Father Ike wanted to serve.
“Once they know it’s a Catholic chaplain, there’s always a difference,” he said. “There’s trust, there’s connection – even for non-Catholics among them – they feel that confidentiality is assured; they feel comfortable approaching and sharing whatever might be their immediate worries, and it’s always a great opportunity for ministry.”