Fargo, N.D., Feb 11, 2008 / 09:58 am
Monsignor Brian Donahue has announced that after Easter, he will return to active duty as a military chaplain. Msgr. Donahue currently serves as one of two Vicars General for the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota and also as pastor at St. Benedict’s Catholic Church in Wild Rice and St. Maurice Catholic Church in Kindred.
Born in 1955, Msgr. Donahue attended public and Catholic schools in Fargo, ND, before entering Cardinal Muench Seminary, Fargo, then Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. He was ordained to the priesthood in May 1983, entered the Army National Guard on Feb. 2, 1987, and served in active duty during the Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2005, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service as battalion chaplain in Iraq.
In 2007, Msgr. Donahue retired from the Army National Guard after 20 years of service, which included serving in active duty during the Persian Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was honored May 4, 2007, for his service during an awards ceremony at St. Benedict’s. However, even in retirement, he told his parishioners, “my heart…has never left the military.”
When the commander of the Army unit he had served with in Iraq, the 3-133 Field Artillery unit of the Texas Army National Guard, invited Msgr. Donahue, age 52, to serve as their chaplain again when they return to Iraq this fall, his heart told him to say “yes”. His bishop, Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, consented to his return to active duty and the process of transferring out of Retired Reserve to the Individual Ready Reserve began.