Faith in Action

Front page story in the Tribune on Wilmette native and Army captain Father John Barkemeyer in Anbar province, Iraq. "The Good Shepherd":

But most of Barkemeyer's flock lives off the base. To reach them, he travels by convoy from outpost to outpost, another soldier hidden under body armor and a helmet. He's accompanied by Pfc. Ashley Solorio, a 20-year-old Texan so small her rifle reaches from the ground to her elbow.

Instead of a gun, Barkemeyer carries a camouflage bag, from which he pulls a white and yellow robe, a round brass box holding the Eucharist and a brass cup for wine that the Army won't let him fill. When he says "This is the blood of Christ," he raises an empty cup.

Father Berkemeyer is the only Catholic priest in Anbar province, often saying 5 masses a day, traveling constantly.

With that volume of visits, "I doubted my ability to serve these soldiers," Barkemeyer said. It was the constant death, not the visits, he added. "I knew I could keep it up for a couple of weeks, and then I'd be in uncharted waters."

But just as Barkemeyer thought about giving up in February, violence dropped off. Local sheiks banded together and teamed with Americans to fight Al Qaeda insurgents.

"Talk about the presence of God," Barkemeyer said. It was the answer to many prayers, he says.

If you would like to help Fr. Barkemeyer and our troops, you can donate to ComPadres.org, a group he started to give them a few creature comforts and taste of home in the little free time they have.