A padre is a priest, especially one who works with soldiers in the army (and sometimes with the navy or air force). Soldiers often say padre the way they might say Father to a priest: it is respectful, a little warm, and not stiff. In English it is military talk more than high-street church talk. In a town church you would more often say priest, minister, or Father plus a name. Though actually, padre is simply the ordinary word for “father” in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, and in those languages it is the normal way to address a priest. English borrowed it. So in a film set in Spain or Mexico, padre may just mean a priest, with no army in sight. In British and American military English, it is the priest or minister who goes with the soldiers — the person they see for a funeral, a wedding, or a quiet talk. In that army use it is not only Catholic, even though in church English Father often is. The word still feels a little old-soldier and a little foreign, which is why it has colour.