Fr. Daniel Hall, CSV was raised in a military family and lived in many places in his early years, including three years in Cuba during the revolution. His family eventually settled down in Virginia Beach, VA, and Fr. Hall attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.
Fr. Dan Hall served as a chaplain with the Marines
He dropped out of college and entered the Army. Fr. Hall intended to become a helicopter pilot, but his eyesight was too poor to enter training. Instead, Fr. Hall became an infantry officer and went on to Special Forces training. He was deployed to Vietnam for two tours.
Fr. Hall eventually left the Army and resumed studies toward his undergraduate degree while working for various businesses. In Las Vegas, he was recreation director at the Las Vegas Hilton and Flamingo Hilton and eventually transferred to the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki – but not before he met the Viatorians in Las Vegas. Some of the Hilton workers were Bishop Gorman High School students, and Fr. Hall connected with Fr. Francis White, CSV at St. Viator Catholic Community.
Fr. Dan Hall served as a teacher and coach at Saint Viator High School, and one of his players was Peter Lamick, SVHS ’07 and a future professed Viatorian.
During his time in Hawaii, amid ongoing conversations with Viatorians, Fr. Hall applied for and was accepted into the pre-novitiate program. He moved from Hawaii to Illinois, where he earned his teaching certification and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago. As a newly professed Viatorian, Fr. Hall taught at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois for four years and Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas for three years.
Fr. Hall was ordained to the priesthood in 1988 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, IL. In 1990, he asked for and received permission to re-enter active-duty military service. It so happened that summer of 1990 was the start of Iraq’s invasion, and Fr. Hall found himself in Saudi Arabia on deployment. He served for as a chaplain with the US Marine Corps for six years and a chaplain with the Navy for two years.
Fr. Daniel Hall served on the Provincial Council from 2009 to 2022.
In 1998, Fr. Hall left the military service to help the Viatorian Community establish the Foundation of Belize. There, he became the founding Viatorian pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church in Corozal Town, Belize, where he served for five years.
Upon his return to the US, Fr. Hall worked a few stints at Saint Viator High School, where he taught social studies, coached football and wrestling, and served as Vice President for Viatorian Identity and Mission to the school’s first lay president, Brian Liedlich.
He also started the Viatorian Giving Garden on the grounds of the Province Center. Right from the start, he ensured that participating gardeners would help feed the hungry, by donating their produce to area food pantries.
Fr. Hall served on the Provincial Council from 2009 to 2022, first as a councilor, then as Assistant Provincial to Fr. Mick Egan, CSV, and then as Provincial, elected in 2018 following Fr. Egan’s election as Superior General. After his term as Provincial ended in 2022, Fr. Hall took a six-month sabbatical and afterwards, he returned to Saint Viator High School to work part-time moderating its Lion Learning Program study hall.
These days, Fr. Hall’s priestly ministry consists largely of celebrating weddings and baptisms, usually for former students who have kept in touch. No matter what he’s up to from day to day, he continues to prioritize Viatorian commitment to educating the young and embracing those “accounted of little importance.”
More on Fr. Hall from Viatorians.com:
- Fr. Hall Returns to the Classroom (2023): After his time as Provincial and a short sabbatical, Fr. Hall got back to helping SVHS students.
- Exploring God’s Invitations with Fr. Hall (Viatorian Voices podcast appearance – 2023): Fr. Hall reaches back to his lay and military careers, his vocation and early religious life, and the various stages of ministry and service in his years as a priest.
- Fr. Hall Recognized for Bringing Students Together with Veterans (2022): With two other members of the SVHS community, Fr. Hall was honored for bringing veteran awareness and history to student life and learning.
- Crafting a Vision for the Future Continues (2022): Fr. Hall helped lead a strategic planning process for the province, and he traveled to each region to gather local input for the work.
- Fr. Hall Experiences First Extraordinary General Council (2019): One responsibility of the Provincial Superior is to represent the province to the EGC, a gathering of the General Council and the superiors of each province.
- Community Garden Blossoming (2014): Our oldest story of our community garden and its donated yield is from its third season – Fr. Hall helped found this garden in 2012, and it’s been going strong ever since.
Updated July 14, 2025 by Associate Dan Masterton.