Office of Chaplains
Chaplaincy as a Ministry of Presence, Care, and Faithful Service
The Office of Chaplains serves clergy and chaplain candidates called to minister in settings where pastoral care must often be offered across lines of tradition, belief, crisis, and need. This work supports chaplains who serve with compassion, steadiness, and reverence in places where the ministry of presence is especially needed.
Pax et Bonum
A Specialized Ministry of the Church
Chaplaincy is a distinct form of ministry within the life of the Church. It calls clergy to bring prayer, counsel, sacramental presence, and pastoral care into environments that are often interfaith, public, institutional, or otherwise unlike the ordinary life of a parish. In these places, the chaplain is called to serve faithfully, listen carefully, and stand near to people in moments of suffering, uncertainty, transition, and need.
The Office of Chaplains exists to support that work. It helps foster chaplaincy within Old Catholic Churches International and encourages a ministry that is marked by wisdom, maturity, pastoral sensitivity, and readiness to serve in diverse settings.
The Work of This Office
Formation and Guidance
This office assists clergy and candidates who are discerning chaplaincy, helping them understand the expectations, preparation, and character required for this particular ministry.
Ecclesiastical Endorsement
The office promotes and supports the process of ecclesiastical endorsement for qualified chaplain candidates, recognizing that chaplaincy often requires clear church authorization as well as appropriate preparation.
Pastoral Service in Diverse Settings
Chaplains may be called to serve in hospitals, public institutions, community settings, emergency contexts, and other places where spiritual care must be offered with both conviction and respect.
A Ministry for Those Most in Need
Chaplaincy stands close to the Church’s pastoral mission. It is often exercised among those who are ill, grieving, isolated, under strain, or passing through moments of profound vulnerability. For that reason, this work must be carried out with compassion, discipline, prayer, and a deeply rooted commitment to the dignity of every person.
The chaplain does not serve by authority alone, but by faithful presence. In settings where people may come from many backgrounds or from no stated faith at all, chaplaincy becomes a ministry of listening, steadiness, discernment, and care.
We have no greater calling than to minister to those who are most in need of spiritual care, comfort, and the faithful presence of the Church.
Ordered, Faithful, and Prepared
Because chaplaincy is both specialized and demanding, it requires preparation. The Office of Chaplains exists in part to help ensure that clergy who pursue this ministry do so with sound formation, proper endorsement, and a clear understanding of the responsibilities involved.
This includes support for ecclesiastical endorsement, guidance concerning chaplaincy expectations, and connection to resources that can strengthen candidates in their pastoral and professional readiness.
Begin Here
If you are exploring chaplaincy within Old Catholic Churches International, seeking endorsement information, or looking for the right place to begin, this office is here to help. We invite you to learn more about chaplaincy, review the endorsement material, and make contact regarding next steps.
Office of Chaplains
Email: chaplaincy@myocci.org