by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
MARSHALL ISLANDS — Father Daniel Gardner’s commute to work looks a little different these days.
When he’s not riding his bike across Kwajalein Atoll, twice a month he’s hopping on a 28-seat plane for a short flight to a neighboring island to celebrate Mass.
“It’s getting pretty routine now,” said Father Gardner of his life on the Marshall Islands.
After officially retiring from active duty in 2024, then serving briefly as parochial administrator of Holy Angels Parish in Garnett and St. John the Baptist Parish in Greeley later that year, he was invited by Father Jim Ludwikoski to serve as a contract chaplain on Kwajalein.
Father Ludwikoski, a retired military chaplain from the archdiocese, has been serving there off and on over the years. The current plan is that the priests will take turns serving there for six months at a time.
Now more than halfway through his first stint, Father Gardner said serving the island community has expanded his faith life.
“I’m more in awe of God and how God watches over us all and can treat us individually,” he said, “but he sees the whole picture, too — way beyond anything we can imagine.”
Island living
Father Gardner arrived on Kwajalein on Sept. 9, 2025, and was taken on a tour by the local Protestant chaplain via golf cart, where he learned more about his new home.
Residents of the Marshall Islands come from multiple countries, including the United States and the Philippines.
They include military personnel and Army civilians, but many are contracted employees and their family members.
The time zone is 18 hours ahead of Central Time, and the Kwajalein work week is Tuesday through Saturday to match the United States.
“They can’t grow anything here,” said Father Gardner, “so all of our food is brought in. A flight brings in the food. Tuesday is the big day.”
The local Catholic parish, Blessed Sacrament, shares the Island Memorial Chapel with the Protestant community, so both groups have to set up and tear down for Masses and services.
Father Gardner celebrates daily Mass for a small group of one to five people but sees around 90 on the weekends between the Saturday night and Sunday morning Masses.
He offers prayers during remembrance ceremonies for events like September 11.
At Christmastime, he celebrated an evening Mass for nine days for Sinbang Gabi, a Filipino devotion.
This month and next, he’s hosting showings of season two of the TV series “The Chosen” for the local community.
“Wherever I go, my favorite part of the experience is the people,” said Father Gardner. “And there’s quite a variety of people here, because it’s not just the Americans but also some of the Marshallese and the Filipinos.”
New perspectives
The lifestyle of the people Father Gardner has met has been captivating to witness.
“A lot of the people who work here on Kwajalein live on Ebeye (a neighboring island),” he said, “so they shuttle over on the boat to work and then shuttle back on the boat to go home.
“Some have worked here many, many years. Others grew up here, and they go back to the States, then come back here to work and raise their family. They’re known as ‘Kwaj Kids.’”
Father Gardner met a man whose company was sending him from the islands to Cuba and another who was being transferred to Djibouti in East Africa.
“There are so many different types of people who sacrifice a lot to work here,” he said, “because they’re away from their families.
“I’m thinking that in that sacrifice that they’re here, God is watching over them. They’re leaving a lot behind by working here — the comforts of home.”
Ministering to the island community has been a blessing for the Kansas priest.
“You get to see a broader version of the world,” said Father Gardner, “and understand that we’re all here as brothers and sisters.
“And we all have different experiences that we can share with each other but also grow together and help each other out.”
About the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands are located around 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. Kwajalein Atoll is under a mile wide and three-and-a-half miles long.
The United States took control of the Marshall Islands from Japan during World War II and conducted nuclear weapons testing there after the war.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands became a sovereign country in 1979 and entered a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1986.
