Priest's military rank promotion a major bump for chaplaincy
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
OTTAWA –Fr. Guy Chapdelaine was honoured with a bump in rank, but it is Canada’s military chaplaincy that received the real promotion, said Canada’s newest Major General.
Chapdelaine, a Roman Catholic priest, was elevated from Brigadier-General to Major General on Nov. 7, receiving his epaulets from Chief of Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance and Lieutenant-General Charles Lamarre.
“I’m very humbled by this promotion. It was unexpected,” Chapdelaine said in an interview.
Vance mentioned to Chapdelaine a couple months ago that he wished to elevate the chaplaincy, but Chapdelaine didn’t ask him to elaborate. Even though this is the highest rank ever held by a Chaplain General, Chapdelaine believes the promotion is less about himself and more about how Vance regards the importance of military chaplaincy.
“It’s really the chaplaincy through this promotion that was elevated, not myself as Chaplain General,” Chapdelaine said. “It’s a recognition of the importance of religion, especially with the new policy of the Canadian Armed Forces — Strong, Secure, Engaged.”
That policy takes a “holistic approach” to wellbeing that includes “spiritual health” for personnel and their families, including a suicide strategy and recognition of the “importance of spirituality,” he said.
Chapdelaine, who has deployed to Kosovo and has ministered in Afghanistan, was named the Chaplain General in 2015. Since Vance took over in that same year, the Chaplain General has been invited to participate in the Armed Forces Council that includes the commanders of the air force, navy, army and special forces, as well as others, such as the reserve advisor and the Judge Advocate General, he said.
“I think I’m the first Chaplain General to be invited,” Chapdelaine said.
Previously, the Chaplain General was invited to give the Council a 10-minute briefing once a year. He is “now around the table” in the role of an “advisor rooted in this committee,” he said.
In addition, he now meets with the Chief of the Defence Staff every three months on “moral and spiritual issues relating to the well-being of members and their families.”
Chapdelaine’s promotion was greeted with a “a very positive reaction” by the interfaith team of military chaplains, he said. “It was a morale booster.”
Chapdelaine is anticipating “a growth of the chaplaincy in numbers” through recruitment.
“I would like to see chaplains coming from other religions that are not represented in the chaplaincy: Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh chaplains,” he said. “We find them in the different police forces. I would like to have the same thing in the Canadian Armed Forces.”
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