Fr. Christopher was born in 1967 and is a native of San Francisco, California. He attended Kolbe Academy, which was co-founded by his parents, Francis and Margaret Crotty. Fr. Crotty was the first high school graduate of the program. In 1986 Fr. Crotty began service in the United States Navy. He served with distinction in the medical corps eventually attending the anesthesia technologist program. Fr. Crotty served as an anesthesia technologist at Balboa Naval Hospital for four years. Having completed military service Fr. Crotty went on to work as a civilian anesthesia technologist at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose California.