Faithfully walking in the footsteps of Jesus

Ministering to the sick, dying and lonely was a core part of Jesus’ ministry on Earth.

When Father Peter Dowd walks through the corridoors and wards of Royal North Shore Hospital, he feels he is faithfully trying to carry out that most fundamental aspect of Jesus’ ministry.

“I see our ministry to the sick as walking in the footsteps of the Master, Jesus Christ, in a very unique and very profound way,” says Fr Peter.

“Hospital chaplaincy carries faithfully what many would argue was one of the most pivotal and significant aspects of the ministry of Jesus. It’s a ministry of presence.” mental health, and all the different places. It’s about making it about the patient, not about me, so that God, in any way he wishes, can touch that person.”

He calls to mind the words of Bishop Peter Ingham, former Bishop of Wollongong, who says the definition of a chaplain is someone who “loiters with intent”.

Far from administering the sacraments to sick and dying patients, the ministry is also about journeying with patients and families often are faced with the biggest challenges they will ever face.

“There was one time when I was called over to the neo natal intensive care unit (NICU) where a baby boy was born around 28 weeks with some serious challenges,” says Fr Peter.

“Over many months I got to know the young family, visiting regularly and praying with the parents who took it in turns to be present in the hospital with their child as well as caring for their other child. While it was touch and go for a while, the baby was

“They didn’t see anyone else,” says Fr Peter.

“I often reflect on it as one of the greatest privileges of my whole priestly life really, being able to come in to see some of those patients and to have someone there they could just open up to if they wished as to how they were feeling. At that moment, there was a need to be able to share that, not to get answers, but at least to be able to be present to that, and to have someone be present to them.”

Fr Peter firmly believes Hospital Chaplaincy is about helping people to see and feel the love of God, even at their darkest hour.

“It's about helping that person to know the love of God, whether they explicitly will put it in those terms or not,” he says.

“They need to know they're accepted, that you listen to them, and help them to try to find hope. Sometimes that's very difficult for them, because of all the circumstances they're experiencing.

“Ultimately, it's the intent of bringing the presence of Jesus to them by being present, just as God calls us to be present to one another, in love and with openness.”

Pastoral Works Broken Bay helps to support hospital chaplaincy within the Diocese, providing training for lay volunteers to support the work of the priests in visiting the sick and for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to give patients access to the Eucharist. It funds administrative assistance, to allow chaplains like Fr Peter to spend more time in the wards where they are needed most.