Fr. Christopher Ford Installed as Grand Chaplain by PGER David R. Carr
Connecticut’s own State Chaplain Fr. Christopher Ford was installed on June 3rd, 2023 as the Grand Chaplain of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America.
Fr. Ford was ordained a priest for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on June 1, 2019.
A native of Naugatuck, CT, Fr. Ford is the youngest of 4 siblings. He attended St. Francis of Assisi School and Naugatuck High School before graduating from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven in 2011 with a degree in Political Science. Fr. Ford then worked in the Department of Residence Life at Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA, while obtaining a Master of Education degree in Evaluation & Measurement from Kent State University (OH) in May 2013. He entered St. John Fisher Seminary in August 2013 and earned his M.Div./S.T.B. degree from St. Joseph Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, N.Y. before his ordination in 2019.
Fr. Ford began his priestly ministry in 2019 at St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury, CT. In July 2021, he moved to full-time Diocesan ministry and is currently serving the Diocese in several capacities as Director of Vocations, Director of Campus Ministry, and Chaplain to the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. Additionally, Fr. Ford is pursuing a Ph.D. in Administration and Supervision (Church and Non-Public School Leadership) from the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University in New York.
A member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks since his 21st birthday, Fr. Ford is currently serving the order as Grand Chaplain and has served the Connecticut Elks Association as State Chaplain since 2022.