Hospital Chaplains

A journey into the secret lives of hospital chaplains and reality television for the soul

First published on 12 Apr 2012. Updated on 16 Apr 2012.

They go about their business quietly, giving comfort and guidance to those living the last few moments of their lives. Whether they preach the word of God, Allah and Buddha they all face the same challenge: helping us make sense of illness, injury, pain and suffering.

Over eight half-hour episodes, the team at ABC Compass opens up the little-known world of hospital chaplains as they tend to the 40,000 patients in hospital around Australia on any given day. Follow the journey of Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant chaplains as they tend to a seven year old victim of a hit-and-run, a father-of-three on life-support and a baby’s miracle birth as part of their daily rounds.

Though there are moments of heartache and despair there is much hope and joy to be seen in this groundbreaking series.

Hospital Chaplains first screens on ABC1 at 6:30pm on Sun 15 Apr.

By Annie Davis |

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