Photo By Staff Sgt. Erick Yates | U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Janson D. Boyles (left), the Kosovo Force Chief of Staff, Bishop...... read more read more
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CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – NATO forces serving in Kosovo welcomed an auxiliary Catholic bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Servce, USA, for a two-day religious support visit that included a meetings with the Kosovo Force commander and chief of staff, Oct. 7, at Camp Film City in Pristina, Kosovo.
Catholic Bishop Richard Spencer is the archdiocese’s Episcopal Vicar for Europe and Asia, and a retired U.S. Army colonel and chaplain who served in Korea, Bosnia, Egypt, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to his official biography.
Spencer traveled from Germany to meet with Italian Maj. Gen. Guglielmo Luigi Miglietta and U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, the KFOR Commander and Chief of Staff, respectively, and to visit with and discuss topics on religious support for KFOR’s multinational forces.
“Part of the reason for the visit is talk about religious support for soldiers who are part of the NATO peacekeeping mission, discuss some of the issues that are going on in the region and celebrate Soldiers who have chosen to be a part of the Catholic faith with a baptism ceremony,” said Capt. Michael Creagan, a Minnesota Army National Guard chaplain serving within KFOR. Creagan is the chaplain for Multinational Battle Group-East, a U.S.-led element of KFOR headquartered at Camp Bondsteel.
Creagan and Staff Sgt. Sarah Ward, the MNBG-E Chaplain’s Assistant, served as hosts for the bishop, and escorted him on visits to several KFOR installations.
“My responsibility is to check on all the military chapels in Europe and Asia, so traveling here is part of my annual visit,” Spencer said.
“I’m also here to formalize and celebrate the journey of five Soldiers who have been preparing to become members of the Catholic church,” he said.
Spencer said it’s heartwarming to see Soldiers willing to take that step in their faith while deployed.
One of the things the bishop looks for during his visits is the relationship military members have with their religious support staff, he said.
“I’ve been very impressed to see how connected the religious support team is here. Both the chaplain and his assistant know their people and the people know them. So they are doing good things,” Spencer said.
It means a lot to have that relationship during the good and bad times encountered during a military career, he said.
| Date Taken: | 10.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2015 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 178500 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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