Marmion chaplain, teacher traded robe for battle fatigues

Father Paul Weberg of Marmion Academy looks so natural in his brown monk's robe that it is hard to imagine he recently led a much different life in battle fatigues. He spent last summer in Iraq.

Weberg, 32 and a Geneva native, could have been content with his life as chaplain and theology teacher. He joined Marmion Abbey as a monk 10 years ago and has been a priest for five years. Two years ago, he joined the Illinois Army National Guard and volunteered to serve in Iraq.

"It was a way to balance the monastery with the military," said Weberg. "You can say that I felt a calling. There's a shortage of Catholic priests. While 25 percent of soldiers are Catholic, only 8 percent of the chaplains are Catholic."

Weberg was stationed in Baghdad but he traveled extensively throughout the city, visiting 30 of some 60 bases within the city, where there are about 33,000 U.S. troops. He stayed for days at some of the bases and visited others briefly, saying Mass, hearing confessions, and offering spiritual guidance and support.

"Sometimes just having a priest present, on call in case you need him, is a comfort," Weberg said. "It's also a reminder of home. Having a priest means you can have a church anywhere. Receiving the Eucharist is also a connection to their families, and it's connecting to the same Jesus, the same Christ."

Weberg said he found the mood of the soldiers "varied" but added that he served in an Iraq that is "relatively peaceful."

"The surge is working and they can see the benefits of their presence there," Weberg said. "They miss their families, but they know they are helping Iraq become an autonomous and healthy nation, not terrorized and held captive."

Still, there were gunfire and roadside bombs that made traveling in convoys or by helicopter necessary. Hearing bombs going off was very different from the peace of the abbey.

"It's hard to explain what it's like, because it's such a different environment," Weberg said. "You can't be paralyzed by fear."

Weberg said he is very grateful for the support he received from his faith community ("I'm living with 30 guys in the monastery who were able to pick up the slack") and from his family.

His parents Thomas and Rosarita Weberg live in Geneva. He says he is the youngest of four children in a family that "provided a great spiritual base."

It's uncertain if Weberg will return to Iraq, but he stresses that he would go back.

"When the soldiers called me 'father,' I take that seriously," Weberg said. "I'm young and I was able to go. I don't want to be a deadbeat dad. What kind of father wouldn't take care of his children?"

Read Weberg's letters from Iraq at marmion.org.