Father Christopher Krall, SJ (center) concelebrates Mass at Djibouti’s Camp Lemonnier military base, where he is a Navy chaplain ministering to 4,000 troops.
A Sort of Homecoming
Born on a military base in California, Fr. Christopher Krall, SJ, now serves as chaplain to 4,000 troops in East Africa
By Patricia McGeever
Patricia McGeever, is an award-winning freelance writer and television news producer based in Cincinnati. A proud Xavier Musketeer, she is a retired Irish dancer and instructor.
When the fall semester at Creighton University (CU) in Omaha ended last December, students packed their bags to go home for the holidays. One of their professors, Fr. Christopher Krall, SJ, packed up his office and headed to a military base in Djibouti, a country in East Africa almost 8,000 miles from Nebraska. For the next nine months he will serve there as a Navy chaplain ministering to some 4,000 United States and allied troops.
“The mission is calling,” Fr. Krall says. “So, this is a fulfillment to all the training I’ve ever done as a Jesuit but also the Naval training and what it means to be a chaplain in the military in the modern day.”
Fr. Krall is a reserve Naval officer who finished chaplain training in the summer of 2024. Now one of nine reserve Catholic priests serving the Coast Guard, Navy and Marines, he will be stationed at Djibouti’s Camp
“THIS IS A FULFILLMENT TO ALL THE TRAINING I’VE EVER DONE AS A JESUIT BUT ALSO THE NAVAL TRAINING AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHAPLAIN IN THE MILITARY IN THE MODERN DAY.”
Lemonnier, the primary base of operations for U.S. Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. He will serve as the sole priest on the ministry team there.
“What I’ve been told is, I could be the only Catholic priest in the whole defense department for the continent of Africa,” Fr. Krall says. “I will be flying to outpost camps in neighboring countries where there are Catholic personnel, but they have not had a chance to have Mass or confession because no priest has been available or able to get out to them.”
The Navy wanted him to report in October, so he could be prepared for Christmas with the troops. But he could not pull out of his classes in the middle of the semester.
He is popular on campus as both a priest and a professor teaching theology and neuroscience. His neuroscience class fills up on the first day of registration. Officially on a leave of absence from his teaching duties, Fr. Krall will still be able to advise on some research projects. That is good news for the students he currently works with on projects.
Father Christopher Krall, SJ, on a visit to Somalia as part of his chaplain duties. (Below) Fr. Krall at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
“The kind of work he does goes beyond teaching and research,” says CU theology professor James Jay Carney. “He’s a real mentor for students and a real Christian witness.”
Mariska Suwanda, a CU junior and ROTC member, knows this all too well. She calls Fr. Krall her “absolute favorite professor,” a mentor both in research and life. Currently, they are developing a research project together that looks into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the military and how the Ignatian Examen could help with the symptoms.
“In terms of spiritual readiness, there’s not that much literature out there,” Suwanda says. “There’s a niche in the field that hasn’t been fully looked at, and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Colleague Tricia Ross, a CU associate professor of modern languages and literatures, worked with Fr. Krall on two projects. One reconciled science and religion, and the other looked at the impact that loneliness has on students on campus.
“He’s great to work with, full of energy and new ideas for research,” Ross says. “He’s extremely popular with students because he’s approachable, friendly and energetic.”
As for his new assignment on a military base, Fr. Krall will likely feel right at home since he comes from a military family himself. In fact, he was born at Travis Air Force Base in northern California, where his father
was stationed. The family later moved to Wisconsin, where Fr. Krall grew up, and in 2005, after double-majoring in physics and philosophy at Boston College, he entered the Society of Jesus. In the years since, he has earned several master’s degrees and a Ph.D. He was ordained in 2015.
“What I find refreshing about Chris is, he’s a very gentle soul, calm and a good listener,” Carney says. “He doesn’t need to dominate the room.”
Both Fr. Krall’s vocation and education will benefit the Navy. Admirals have already asked him how they can improve the spiritual readiness of sailors to equal the physical readiness needed for military service. Father Krall hopes to be able to introduce the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola as a start.
“My hope is, and the idea is, that some of my research on prayer and conversion, and the use of the Exercises with a neuroscience background, can help facilitate or bring some needed perspective, especially as the Navy is open to this idea of spiritual readiness.”
In return, Fr. Krall says, he hopes the challenges he faces in this mission will make him a more compassionate teacher, preacher and priest.
