How the role and visibility of chaplains changed over the past century

A chaplain prays for a COVID-19 patient in Los Angeles while on a video call with the patient's daughter in November 2020. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new attention to the work of chaplains.

Before the pandemic, as an article in The New York Times put it, the place of the hospital chaplain was “at the bedside, holding a patient’s hand, counseling them and their family members, singing with them, crying with them, hugging them, offering the eucharist, or a prayer for healing.”