LEFT: Fr. Geoffrey Eboh, chaplain at Riverside University Health System RIGHT: The Diocese's chaplains pose for a photo in the Diocesan Pastoral Center chapel.
The priests of the Diocese are there for us in many of our biggest and most joyful life events – to celebrate our marriages, to baptize our babies, to give the sacraments to our children. They’re also there in the more difficult moments, such as when we or our loved ones are sick or dying. That’s where the important ministry of hospital chaplaincy comes in.
For the dozen or so priests that serve at our local hospitals, ministering to the sick and dying through being a hospital chaplain is how they share the love of Christ with the people.
“Chaplain services is a ministry of compassion, love, mercy and reintegration. It is the ministry of Jesus Christ,” said Father Geoffrey Eboh, chaplain at Riverside University Health System in Moreno Valley. “It is a ministry of caring when we cannot cure, since our hope, trust and confidence is in Jesus Christ who is the perfect healer that also uses the hands of the medical team and caregivers.”
Fr. Eboh has been a priest for nearly 25 years and has been a chaplain for more than six years at various hospitals in the Diocese. He is in the hospital four days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then remains on call 24 hours after leaving the hospital. He makes rounds to visit all the Catholic patients currently in the hospital, and whichever non-Catholic patients would like to see him, administering sacraments (Anointing the Sick, Confession and Eucharist) to the Catholics who would like them or simply being present to give advice, answer questions about the faith, pray or lend a listening ear. On the weekends, he helps at nearby parishes with weekend Masses if requested and if he is able to do so.
Fr. Eboh says that in his ministry as a hospital chaplain, he often sees people experience a moment of reintegration with the Church, “especially those who lost their interest and contact with God, the Church and the sacraments.”
The ministry, however, does not come without its difficulties. “There are many difficult, challenging and emotional situations which you experience on a daily basis. Children dying before your very eyes, the parents helpless and crying uncontrollably, how some patients have to suffer from deadly cancer,” said Fr. Eboh.
“It needs dedication and willingness to serve others, denying yourself some sleep ... you will be paged or called at any given time of the day or night. It’s difficult, but someone has to take up the task,” he added.
Fr. Eboh called being a chaplain during the COVID-19 pandemic one of the most “devastating” experiences of his life. “Witnessing every second dead zipped up in a bag and moved to the morgue. It was really horrible and emotional ... It really drained me emotionally,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Fr. Eboh sees this as a crucial ministry that brings comfort and healing to those often experiencing their darkest moment. While his day-to-day routine may look different from priests assigned at parishes or in various other ministries, he views them as fundamentally similar given that for both, the primary objective is to save souls and bring them closer to Christ.
The Diocesan Development Fund provides funding to several important ministries, including Hospital Chaplains. We encourage you to donate to the DDF today to keep these ministries going! Visit https://osvhub.com/ddf/giving/funds.