THELEAVEN.COM | VOL. 36, NO. 10 | OCTOBER 17, 2014
Doctors of the soul
St. Francis chaplains hold out grace and hope
T
OPEKA — Parish ministry offers many challenges for a priest, including leaky roofs, administrative minutiae and counseling the troubled. Few situations at a parish, however, can compare to being called out of bed at 2 a.m. because the Emergency Room is filled with several people suffering life-threatening injuries sustained in a car wreck. “Hospital ministry is a unique pastoral ministry,” said Father Peter Nwanekezie, a chaplain at St. Francis Health Center in Topeka. “It is a unique pastoral ministry, because a greater part of the time, you are touching human suffering.” Any hospital will have doctors of various specialties, nurses skilled in one type of care or another, and technicians. They form a team to restore health — to save lives. Priests are not trained in the healing arts. Even so, they are an important part of the hospital team, because priests are doctors of the soul.
STORY AND PHOTO
BY JOE BOLLIG Often, a health crisis will lead to an existential crisis, which also needs treatment. “[Being a chaplain] is a humbling experience,” said Father Diego Cadri, also a chaplain at St. Francis. “You see people die, you see people struggle, you see people affirmed in their faith. “And also you see people very angry — [They ask,] ‘Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to my family?’” The hospital chaplain is there to treat their souls and walk with them through the crucible. “At the end of the day, you find
people always go to their spiritual roots,” said Father Cadri. “And people have a lot of stories about that, too.” At a time when it can be difficult to get even one Catholic priest to serve as chaplain at a hospital, St. Francis Health Center — the only Catholic hospital in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas — is blessed to have two. Additionally, the hospital has a Lutheran chaplain. Father Peter Nwanekezie, 57, is a priest of the Diocese of Nnewi in southeast Nigeria. Father Diego Cadri, 52, is from the Diocese of Arua in northwest Uganda. Father Nwanekezie, ordained on April 2, 1989, arrived in Canada in 2002 and did pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Regina, Saskatchewan. He also studied counseling and spiri-
tuality at St. Paul University in Ottawa. He has chaplain certification. Father Diego Cadri came to the United States in 1997 to study for a doctorate in philosophy and theology, and a master of arts degree at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was at Advocate Christ Hospital in Chicago, where he did his clinical pastoral education. He became a board certified chaplain. Both priests came to St. Francis in 2009 with archdiocesan approval: Father Cadri in September and Father Nwanekezie in October. They replaced a single chaplain who had been reassigned. “Countries that are more favored with human resources share with those with fewer human resources,” said Father Nwanekezie. “So, it is a missionary thing. >> See “PRIESTS” on page 4
Father Diego Cadri, left, and Father Peter Nwanekezie serve as chaplains at St. Francis Health Center in Topeka, the only Catholic hospital in the archdiocese.
IT’S ALMOST A WRAP
With two days remaining in the extraordinary synod on the family in Rome, our newswire has provided us with far more stories than we have space to run. Go online to: www.theleaven.com and scroll down to the bottom for a wide range of stories and videos on the synod. You can view additional videos by scrolling up or down on the right-hand side of the video pane.
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