Archbishop Broglio laments cancellation of U.S. Army chapel contracts

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 17, 2025 / 14:08 pm

Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio expressed concern about the U.S. Army canceling certain chapel contracts, which he warned “disproportionately harms Catholics.”

In a pastoral letter also sent to all members of Congress, Broglio wrote that many in the Army who attend Mass and participate in faith formation may have noticed “contract services and contractor offices were dark and music was absent during Mass” beginning on Oct. 5, 2025.

He said this was not a result of the ongoing 16-day government shutdown, but was instead caused by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command’s decision to cancel all chapel contracts for Coordinators of Religious Education (CRE), Catholic Pastoral Life Coordinators (CPLC), and music