March 17, 2010

Windows at military chapel dedicated, airman confirmed

By John Gleason

Last month, an airman was confirmed and two stained glass windows were dedicated in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel located on the grounds of Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. 

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Military Services Archdiocese conferred the sacrament of confirmation and blessed the windows during a pastoral visit.

The recently installed windows were designed and constructed by Denver Art Glass. One depicts the Annunciation and the Nativity, the other represents Christ’s Ascension to heaven and Pentecost.

“They really are beautiful,” said Deacon Richard Borda, resident Catholic community coordinator at the base. “The windows appear on either side of the crucifix, bookending Christ’s earthly presence.”

Deacon Borda has ministered at Buckley since 2006. A deacon of the Denver Archdiocese, he is on loan to the Military Services Archdiocese.  Before his current posting, he was assigned to Guardian Angels parish in Denver and as coordinator of personnel board for the Diaconate Office.  

Deacon Borda enjoys his ministry and said working on a military base can be sometimes challenging.

“It’s like evangelizing a parade,” he said with a laugh.  “Work hours for some of the people here can be horrendous; a person might go several weeks working on weekends and therefore unable to attend Mass.  Families move—caught up in re-assignment or deployment—it can make religious education a real challenge but the joy of providing a Catholic presence and daily adoration/Benediction trumps the difficulties.  We are one of a growing number of bases without a priest/chaplain and I am thankful for the priests who help out on Sundays and holy days.”

The Blessed Sacrament Chapel is located in what’s known as a multi-functional chapel on the base.  The building houses classrooms, offices and meeting rooms.  At one end, a room was designated to be the Blessed Sacrament Chapel for Catholics who wished to have a place to pray in the Real Presence of the Lord.  It contains an altar and tabernacle.  The original windows faced out toward the parking lot and it was determined that stained glass would give the room a more reverent, religious tone.

The Military Services Archdiocese was created by Pope John Paul II to provide the Catholic Church’s full range of pastoral ministries and spiritual services to those in the United States Armed Forces. This includes more than 220 installations in 29 countries, patients in 153 Veterans Administration Medical Centers, and federal employees serving overseas in 134 countries.

For the head of the Military Services Archdiocese, with so many bases spread across the globe, travelling to “tend his flock” takes a good deal of his time.  Archbishop Broglio’s main purpose in visiting Buckley was to confer the sacrament of confirmation on Airman 1st Class Alyssa Baguyo, a 22-year-old from Hawaii stationed here. Deacon Borda said that for the Military Services Archdiocese it’s not unusual to have a small confirmation group or have the confirmation ceremony take place in the middle of catechesis.

“We work around the travel schedule of the archbishop,” Deacon Borda said.  “Such is life on a military installation.”