New building called 'lasting monument' to U.S. military, chaplains

Published: 2007-09-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In one of his last acts as head of the U.S. military archdiocese, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien dedicated a building he hopes will be "a lasting monument" to the service and sacrifices of American military personnel and the chaplains who minister to them. Archbishop O'Brien, who was to be installed Oct. 1 as archbishop of Baltimore, blessed and dedicated the new headquarters of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services in the northeast section of Washington Sept. 26. The archdiocese coordinates the spiritual care of nearly 1.5 million Catholics around the world, including active-duty and reserve military personnel and National Guard members, their families, U.S. government workers overseas and residents of Veterans Affairs hospitals. "They sacrifice so much of themselves for this nation" in order to "bring peace and justice to troubled lands," the archbishop said of the military.

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