About Fort Drum Main Post Chapel · Fort Drum, New York
The Main Post Chapel at Fort Drum, New York, is the spiritual home of the St. Michael Catholic Community, serving the soldiers, families, retirees, and DoD civilians of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) installation. Operated under the Fort Drum Religious Support Office and canonically part of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (with territorial ties to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg), it offers a full sacramental life — daily and Sunday Mass, Saturday confessions, Eucharistic adoration, and devotions such as Stations of the Cross in Lent. Located in Building 10785A on Chapel Drive, the chapel underwent a major $7.7 million expansion that doubled its sanctuary and added a religious education wing, rededicated in 2014 as a symbol of 'hope and sanctuary' for the post's warriors and their families.
- Patron
- St. Michael the Archangel (the Catholic congregation is formally known as 'St. Michael Catholic Community')
- Rector
- Father Jason Hesseling (Catholic chaplain, listed on the Diocese of Ogdensburg directory)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (canonical); the community also has a territorial relationship with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg, which lists St. Michael's Catholic Community among its institutions.
Why belong here
The St. Michael Catholic Community at Fort Drum's Main Post Chapel offers a complete sacramental life for an active-duty, family, retiree, and DoD-civilian population — daily Mass on weekdays, a Saturday Vigil and Sunday morning Mass, Saturday confessions, weekly Eucharistic adoration on Fridays, and Stations of the Cross during Lent. The Catholic Women of the Chapel meets Thursdays for spiritual enrichment, fellowship, and charitable outreach, while the larger Religious Support Office coordinates faith-formation programming for all ages. As one of the most deployed divisions in the U.S. Army, the 10th Mountain Division community finds here a place built explicitly to be 'a source of hope, healing, and resiliency' for warriors and their families.
Mass times at Fort Drum Main Post Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday, 4:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
Adoration times
- All Fridays, 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- All Fridays, 5:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Main Post Chapel (alternate schedule listing)
About St. Michael Catholic Community at Fort Drum
The Main Post Chapel on Fort Drum is home to the St. Michael Catholic Community, which gathers soldiers, family members, retirees, and DoD civilians of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) installation for worship, the sacraments, and faith formation. The community is staffed by Catholic chaplains assigned through the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, with courtesy ties to the Diocese of Ogdensburg, and is supported by a Catholic Pastoral Life Community Coordinator and Religious Education Coordinator. The chapel sits in Building 10785A on Chapel Drive, in the heart of the post, and was substantially expanded and rededicated in 2014 as a 'source of hope, healing, and resiliency' for the Fort Drum community.
Worship Schedule (Catholic)
Catholic worship is centered in the Main Post Chapel and follows a regular weekly pattern suitable for both active-duty soldiers and family members. Daily Mass is offered at lunchtime on weekdays, with a Saturday Vigil and a Sunday morning Mass for the weekend obligation. Confessions are heard Saturday afternoons in advance of the Vigil Mass.
- Sunday Mass — 9:00 a.m., Main Post Chapel
- Saturday Vigil Mass — 5:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- Daily Mass — Monday through Friday, 12:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- Confession — Saturday, 4:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
History of the Main Post Chapel
The Main Post Chapel serves the soldiers and families of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), reactivated at Fort Drum on Feb. 13, 1985. The chapel itself entered a transformative period in July 2012 when it closed for a $7.7 million renovation and expansion that added more than 12,000 square feet of new space, doubled the sanctuary, and added a religious education wing, a new multipurpose room, sacristy, parking lot, and a relocated bell tower. It was rededicated on July 31, 2014, in a ceremony attended by Chaplain (Brig. Gen.) Charles 'Ray' Bailey, U.S. Army deputy chief of chaplains, and described by Garrison Commander Col. Gary A. Rosenberg as 'ground zero' for religious support on the post. On Jan. 6, 2015, a bronze 'Pieta of Joan of Arc' — a gift from a retired Army chaplain depicting Joan of Arc comforting a dying English prisoner — was dedicated inside the chapel to inspire soldiers with her moral courage and compassion.
Clergy and Staff
Catholic chaplaincy at Fort Drum is provided by priests assigned through the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. The Diocese of Ogdensburg's directory currently lists Father Jason Hesseling and Father Jhon Madrid as priests serving St. Michael's Catholic Community, with Laura J. Kazmarek as the Catholic Pastoral Life Community Coordinator and Religious Education Coordinator. The wider Religious Support Office includes a Senior Command Chaplain, a Family Life Chaplain, a Director of Religious Education, the Garrison Chaplain, and the Garrison Religious Support Office NCOIC.
- Father Jason Hesseling — Catholic chaplain (received the Order of Martin of Tours Award, 2021)
- Father Jhon Madrid — Catholic chaplain
- Laura J. Kazmarek — Catholic Pastoral Life Community Coordinator and Religious Education Coordinator
- Senior Command Chaplain (Religious Support Office)
- Family Life Chaplain
- Director of Religious Education
- Garrison Chaplain
- Garrison Religious Support Office NCOIC
Ministries and Faith Formation
The St. Michael Catholic Community is supported by an active lay community and by the wider Religious Support Office. Catholic Women of the Chapel (CWOC) provides fellowship, charitable work, and spiritual enrichment for spouses and family members of soldiers. Faith formation and religious education are coordinated for the parish, and youth ministry is offered through Club Beyond. Soldiers and families also have access to a 24-hour chaplain support line.
- Catholic Women of the Chapel (CWOC) — Thursdays, 10:00 a.m., Main Post Chapel
- Religious Education / Faith Formation (Laura J. Kazmarek, coordinator)
- Club Beyond (youth ministry) — Wednesdays, 6:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- Family Life Chaplain support
- 24-Hour Chaplain Support line: (315) 486-1144
Other Faith Communities at the Main Post Chapel
The Religious Support Office at Fort Drum provides a variety of worship and religious-education opportunities in addition to Roman Catholic services, including Protestant, Gospel, Lutheran, contemporary (Chapel Next), Jewish, and Muslim services. All are housed at or coordinated through the Main Post Chapel.
- Chapel Next (contemporary Protestant) — Sunday, 11:00 a.m., Main Post Chapel
- Protestant Women of the Chapel — Tuesday, 9:00 a.m., Main Post Chapel
- Family Connection — Wednesday, 6:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- Jewish Shabbat Services — Friday, 6:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel
- Muslim Jumu'ah (Friday Prayer) — Friday, 1:00 p.m., Main Post Chapel, Room 215
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Curtis L. Kondikthrough 2013
Predecessor of Father Carl A. Subler as Catholic chaplain at Fort Drum.
- Father Carl A. SublerJuly 3, 2013 – c. 2014/2015
Navy veteran and priest from the Diocese of Columbus, ordained 2004, on loan to the Archdiocese for the Military Services; previously deployed with the Army; described his mission as 'to help my parishioners become saints.'