Established as a Los Angeles Archdiocesan Parish in 1954, St. Camillus became what is now known as St. Camillus Catholic Center for Pastoral Care serving the patients of LA County + USC Medical Center in 1990. Rev. Chris Ponnet, the Pastor of St. Camillus, as well as Director, Department of Pastoral Care, Los Angeles County USC Health Care, began providing a Clinical Pastoral Education program which credentials chaplains serving the sick and dying in 1997. The Center provides Catholic outreach ministries and hosts interfaith community services. Located adjacent to Juvenile Hall and near HIV/AIDS hospice and other urban ministries, the programs are moving toward an urban ministry model rather than an exclusively hospital model. A critical moment in each person’s life is when he or she is seriously ill. Compassion and skill are required in ministering to patients and their families. The county hospitals are largely populated with the poor and require culturally sensitive and often bi-lingual persons. Patients may feel quite vulnerable, and their families are often frightened by illnesses threatening the life of their loved one. The chaplain plays a critical role in giving both the patient and the family support and encouragement. Major metropolitan hospitals are often the scenes of tragedy and emergencies requiring chaplains with a deep respect for persons, with ethical responsibility, and with the capability to make decisions. Often medical staff seeks out the chaplain for delicate situations involving life and death decisions. The chaplain also must have an understanding of medical procedures and their consequences. Difficult ethical dilemmas regularly arise in today’s highly technological health care systems, i.e. decisions to withdraw aggressive treatment. Unavoidably, such decisions interact with personal values and beliefs of all parties involved. The chaplain often hears things from the patients that are not communicated to other staff. The chaplains offer spiritual insight and care which strengthens the patient’s capacity to cope. Father Chris shared a moment as an urban chaplain…I walked into the emergency room in the middle of the night. The call had come on the emergency pager for a priest. The family room was full and everyone’s face was either full of tears or with the emotionless look of shock. He was their son, brother and boyfriend. He was shot while going to the store for some diapers for their new baby. In the stillness of the silence, I was allowed to experience their pain and anger while sharing with them God’s promise to be here always... I remain blessed to journey with people daily in these moments of trauma, pain and death with faith, hope and love as the gifts from our community of faith. Our training allows chaplains to learn the art of accompanying the story rather than to fix the situation; a moment of grace for all involved. ©2005 Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation