New numbers out now are showing there are fewer priests who are spiritually serving men and women in the military.

The number of active-duty Catholic chaplains has dropped by half in the last 25 years, according to the archdiocese of military services.

There are currently 190 priests serving, but back in 2001, there were over 400 chaplains helping the military.

Currents news spoke to the vocations director for the Archdiocese of Military Service, Father Marcel Taillon, about the drop in chaplains.

He said one reason for the drop is a greater need than most dioceses.

Any priest who wants to become a military chaplain will have to apply through the Diocese of Brooklyn to do so.

Jagged heavy pieces of metal shot out of an improvised explosive device, designed to destroy is just some of the things David Santos has kept all these years.

“I was a driver, my team was hit with two huge mortar round explosives,” Santos said. “As military vehicles pass by they would detonate the explosives, and then shrapnel essentially would do the rest. That was their hope.”

The realities of doing intelligence for the 42nd Infantry Division of the United States Army during the height of the Iraq War made Santos think about what could be. When he got home he enlisted, this time, in a different type of service.

That was the first of a few close calls Father Santos had while deployed with his identical twin brother, and other men who became his brothers.

Today as the pastor of St. James the Apostle Church in Springfield, New Jersey, Father Santos said being a priest is harder than any mission he was on in Iraq.

“When it comes to the military, it’s high stress and usually you tend to hyper focus on one skill set, whereas the priesthood, you’re the shepherd, you’re the pastor, you’re the CEO, you’re the human resource director, you’re the facilities person,” Father Santos said. “And so and that’s one of the things that I really enjoy about the priesthood is how it’s just it’s so varied. It’s unpredictable. You know, it’s you start a day with one thing in mind, and then it ends and it’s totally opposite.”

What he learned in the military and in the seminary yielded similar results. He became a man built to serve. There are 1.8 million Catholics currently on active duty, according to the Archdiocese for the Military Services.

Today when he holds this piece of metal, he’s reminded that life is fragile.

“You know, when you’re in a situation where you’re being shot at or blown up, you just realize how short life is,” “And how even in that chaos, in situations of hatred and just, you know, obvious evil, how, how God is, is still there.”

As a soldier, he never lost sight of his faith, even in the fog of hatred. Now as a priest, his message to Catholics who feel forced to pick sides in today’s global wars comes straight from the Gospel.

“I think that’s the answer. I think it’s, it’s a peace that comes from God and a relationship with Jesus, helps us to see beyond ourselves, to see others the way that God sees them,” Santos said. “And we need a lot more of that.”

In a red beret and a priest’s collar, Father Santos leads with peace.

Both Father Santos and his twin brother went on to continue their lives of service, his brother now works in law enforcement.

by Katie Vasquez

Tom Hinchen and Lois Seelandt are adding some native plants and flowers outside the parish house of St. Andrew the Apostle Church. The pair belong to the Care for Creation Ministry at the Bay Ridge church, which follows Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, in which the pontiff declares the Catholic cause for protecting the planet based on scripture.

“Laudato Si has many aspects,” Hinchen said. “So Pope Francis starts in what is the state of our common home, and it’s not good.”

“You know, you can just say that or give up on it,“ Seelandt said. “But you can say, no, there’s something I can do about it.”

The ministry took advantage of the space outside the parish house after an accident.

“We had a water main break here in this front yard,“ Hinchen said. “I had also gotten the idea even before about maybe we could do something with this area.”

This year, during Laudato Si week, the Brooklyn church will dedicate a Saint Kateri Habitat named in honor of the patron saint of the environment.

“Be kind to the earth and be kind to nature,“ Seelandt emphasized.

The habitat must fulfill certain requirements laid out by the Saint Kateri Conservation Center that blend ecology and religion.

“No use of chemicals, planting things that are beautiful for people to appreciate, flowers that will attract pollinators. And then they also expect you to have a religious element.”

The Care for Creation Ministry has plans to expand the habitat into this underutilized backyard space because, for this Brooklyn church, caring for the environment is a year-round endeavor.

“A couple of years down the road, there’ll be less grass and more flowers,“ Hinchen said.

“It’s important that we just don’t remember the earth one day, that we remember it all year through, that it becomes part of the fabric of our lives,“ Seelandt said.

Anyone can create a Saint Kateri Habitat in a yard, school, or parish. To find out how go to https://www.kateri.org/saint-kateri-habitat-2/

During the height of the Iraq War, David Santos saw the worst of humanity.

His time in the Army brought him closer to his faith in a way he didn’t understand until he returned home.

As Memorial Day approaches and we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, he says serving God and serving country are not all that different.

Currents News’ Jessica Easthope has the story from Springfield, New Jersey.

By Jessica Easthope

Hot glue, zip ties, and fabric flowers are all Eileen Savelli needs to show her love.

She’s hand-making a crown for the statue of Mary outside her parish, St. Francis de Sales, in Belle Harbor.

“Now it feels great. It really does. She’s a beautiful statue outside, you know,” Savelli said. “And then we also went inside, and we were able to adorn her for her birthday in September.”

Savelli takes care of the crafting and crowning, but the idea came when her former high school classmate and fellow parishioner, Cathy Somerville, noticed the statue could use some attention.

“Cathy had gone there a couple of times to pray, and she saw that she didn’t like the way the crown looked,” Savelli recalled. “It was kind of, in her words, shabby.”

“The Blessed Mother brings me hope and life, and I just didn’t like the way it looked,” Somerville said. “So my friend Eileen, very crafty, and I made an idea together, and here we are.”

At first, Cathy purchased the supplies, and the women would crown Mary with a new headpiece every few months. Then they realized the Queen of Heaven deserved to look like royalty year-round.

“It’s more about adorning the mother of all,” Somerville said. “And peace and solace is what it gives me.”

Now, the money for Savelli’s supplies is donated by parishioners.

They make a new crown every month, each with a different theme, but one thing always stays the same.

“It was just part of my life, always,” Savelli said. “I think she kind of just listens to my woes. How’s that in life?”

The ladies are already planning for the future and don’t plan to stop any time soon.

“We can reuse some of them. I have 11 nieces and nephews. Nine of them are here in St. Francis, and I told them that they’ll have to take it over,” Savelli said. “I plan on doing it as long as I can jump a fence.”