Serving Faithfully - Our News

Local News
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No One Flies Alone: RAAF Base Edinburgh Steps Up for Mental Health Awareness.

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Army Chaplain Trades Boots for Runners to Conquer TCS Sydney Marathon on the 30 August 2026.

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Fellow Chaplains of the CMOA attended the ceremony to support their future military colleague.

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Workplace chaplaincy in frontline organisations, such as the police and military, relies on strict confidentiality to provide a safe space for staff to seek help. 

 

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On 12 July, the Op. Rimau & Commando Day service honoured the fallen of 1944 and pledged ongoing care for serving personnel and their families.

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Operationalizing the Magnificat (Mary’s Song) as a strategic framework for pastoral care, ethical command advisory, and member resilience within military life.

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The Military Ordinariate of Australia marks with sadness the passing of Fr Robert Crawford, a dedicated priest and former army chaplain.

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Defence can confirm an Australian Army soldier has died during a parachuting training course at the Jervis Bay Airfield on the evening of 11 May 2026. 

National News
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From 24 September to 1 October 2028, Sydney, Australia will host the 54th International Eucharistic Congress - a global encounter with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. 

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Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance held the 2026 Battle for Australia Ceremony to honour WWII Pacific campaign veterans.

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Bishop Stuart Hall has officially been ordained as Bishop of the Military Ordinariate.

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Former Navy Chaplaincy Director-General Monsignor Stuart Hall has been appointed Catholic Bishop of the Australian Defence Force, bringing decades of military pastoral experience to the role.

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Australian Catholic Bishops Call for "Culture of Encounter" to Heal Deepening Social Divisions.

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Saint Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint, is remembered each year on 8 August.

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This National Homelessness Week, 3-9 August, the St Vincent de Paul Society is urging the Australian Government to act on this year's theme, Homelessness Action Now.

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Australian Catholic chaplains—affectionately called padres—volunteered to accompany troops during the Korean War (1950–1953).

World News
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Cardinal Mykola Bychok has paid a powerful wartime tribute to fallen Australian hero Samuel Michael Pedrazzini, praying over his grave at Ukraine’s prestigious "Alley of Heroes" cemetery.

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Pope Leo XIV is challenging Aussies to combat the growing epidemic of city loneliness this August by bringing a sense of community and mateship to our sprawling suburban neighbourhoods.

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Celebrating World Day for Grandparents on 26 July, we honor the vital anchor elders provide distant Defence families through a beautiful, two-way exchange of wisdom and youthful curiosity.

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An Australian military delegation visited the Philippines' 3rd Marine Brigade to strengthen defence partnerships and exchange leadership insights.

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Explore how the Vatican’s Global Nobel Laureates Assembly on AI and Nuclear War provides crucial ethical guidance and pastoral support.

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"Leo in Rome" is expected to air across official Vatican media channels and digital platforms.

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Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical ‘Magnifica humanitas’ offers AI developers a valuable anthropological contribution as they design systems with which human beings interact at a deeply personal level.

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Protecting our shared humanity: In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV gently reminds us to safeguard human dignity against the rising tide of AI dehumanisation.

Serving Faithfully Our News - digital image of earth with Australia in the front during the evening with lights

Serving Faithfully Newsletters  

From 2018 to the end of 2023 Serving Faithfully was the newsletter of the Catholic Diocese of the Australian Military Services published quarterly.  

From 2024 onwards Serving Faithfully has morphed into news items published regularly on this website to be a more contemporary means of sharing events and experiences from across the whole Diocese.

As the Catholic Military Diocese is comprised of members of the Australian Defence Force and their families scattered widely across Australia and overseas, wherever they are serving. 

Please contact the Military Ordinariate if you wish to read past published newsletters of Serving Faithfully.

Sacramental News

Cards Title
Baptism
Sacramental News
Isidor Guevarra Baptism at Holy Spirit Chapel RAAF Richmond NSW
Title Card
Isidor Guevara
Date
03 May 2026
Location
Place: Holy Spirit Chapel, RAAF Base Richmond NSW
With Blessing on you Baptism.
REV DCN Graham Swan RAN taking a family photo after a baptism
Title Card
Easton Parker Nykolaychuk & Charlotte Courtney Nykolaychuk
Date
05 July 2026
Location
Place: HMAS Watson, Sydney, NSW
On this blessed occasion of your Baptism
Fr Kene Onwukwe baptising Arthur Cobain All Saints Chapel Townsville
Title Card
Arthur Jay Cobain
Date
07 November 2026
Location
All Saints, Lavarack Barracks, Townsville QLD
On this blessed occasion of your Baptism
Cards Title
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)
Sacramental News
AC Owens RCIA Ceremony at St Marys Catholic Church with fellow trainees and Fr Joel Vergara and Fr Brendan Quirk
Title Card
AC Daniel Owens RCIA Ceremony
Date
18 October 2026
Location
St Marys Catholic Church
Receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. Many of his fellow trainees attended his Mass of Welcome and have supported his journey in faith. ADF Chaplains: Fr Joel Vergara and Fr Brendan Quirk
Bridget Thomas RCIA at ANZAC Memorial Chapel 25 October with Bishop Stuart Hall presiding
Title Card
Bridget Ruth Thomas
Date
25 October 2026
Location
ANZAC Memorial Chapel of St Paul, RMC Duntroon ACT
Joyfully received into the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism via the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The sacred ceremony was presided over by the Most Rev Stuart Hall DD & Fr Thomas Zaranski
Bridget Thomas RCIA at ANZAC Memorial Chapel 25 October with Bishop Stuart Hall presiding
Title Card
Ishveer Gosal
Date
25 October 2026
Location
ANZAC Memorial Chapel of St Paul, RMC Duntroon ACT
Joyfully received into the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Baptism via the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The sacred ceremony was presided over by the Most Rev Stuart Hall DD & Fr Thomas Zaranski
Jack McMillan standing next to Bishop Stuart Hall along with other ADF cadets inside the RMC Chapel at  Duntroon ACT
Title Card
Jack Aiden Cambell McMillan
Date
25 October 2026
Location
ANZAC Memorial Chapel of St Paul, RMC Duntroon ACT
Joyfully received into full communion with the Catholic Church through the Sacrament of Confirmation as part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). The sacred ceremony was presided over by the Most Reverend Stuart Hall DD