Army Reserve bishop comes to Okinawa

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Bishop Frank Richard Spencer, 41 years and still going strong, is the only bishop still in uniform in the U.S. Army Reserves, although the majority of his career was spent on active duty he also served in the National Guard.

Spencer started wearing the uniform in 1969, commissioned as an Army officer in 1973, and began serving on active duty in 1974 as a military police officer.

However, unlike most bishops who retire and serve full-time in the ministry, Spencer, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese for the military services, still serves as a chaplain, and colonel, in the U.S. Army Reserves.

"I still put back on the Army uniform, the Army boots, I have to get a haircut," the bishop said as he laughed, "and with that, then I go to the warzones. Just three weeks ago I returned from Afghanistan ... where I was there for Advent and Christmas season."

After being at the Pentagon on 9/11, having the rectory he was residing in at the Pentagon explode, going to Iraq five times and also going to Afghanistan this past winter, the bishop maintains a strong level of resiliency.

"There is no doubt that my faith sustains me through the good times as well as the difficult times," he said. "I've been through a lot of life's changes, but it's always my faith that I've been able to fall back on; that I draw strength from. I come from a family of Christians, also a long military tradition. So, faith in our family has always sustained us as a family, but also as individuals. It's because of that upbringing, because of that trust, that there is something greater than myself."

The bishop travels to military installations throughout the world sharing his faith while assisting the Military Chaplain Corps in religious observations, such as the sacrament of confirmation.

The bishop came to Okinawa for a three-day visit to perform mass for Ash Wednesday, the start of the Catholic Easter season and also to perform a multi-service confirmation for a group of 84 Catholic candidates, from military bases on Okinawa, Feb. 21.

"This is a great feeling," said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Tim Broderick, an adult candidate being confirmed and department head of Southern branch clinics on Okinawa. "It's something I've wanted to do for the longest time. I appreciate going through as an adult because I can reflect more on the meaning of it; what it means to me and my family."

In addition to the confirmation and masses, Bishop Spencer visited with senior military leaders, military chaplains, and other members of the military community on Camp Foster.