Dublin’s Mater Misericordiae University Hospital An uplifting observational series starting on RTÉ this week will highlight the essential guidance, support and inspiration provided by chaplains.
The Ministry of Hope series follows three Irish chaplains over a whole year, as they reach out to people at their moments of greatest vulnerability, to counsel and care for them.
Margaret Sleator was one of the first ever lay chaplains in Dublin’s Mater Misericordiae University Hospital when she started 13 years ago. Catherine Black is the new chaplain in Shelton Abbey Open Prison in Arklow, Co. Wicklow. And Philip McKinley is the Church of Ireland member of a new multi-denominational chaplaincy team serving 17,000 students from all over the world at Dublin City University.
Miracle
In the first episode, Margaret Sleator supports Seán O’Keeffe whose wife, Margaret, is critically ill in the Mater hospital. With their son, Jack, Sean is praying for a miracle, but the chaplain must also prepare them for the worst.
In DCU, Philip McKinley helps first year students like 19-year-old Aisha Siwar settle into university life at the start of term.
Meanwhile, in Shelton Abbey Open Prison, Catherine Black counsels 33-year-old David whose release date is approaching fast, knowing that the outside world can be just as challenging as prison itself.
Ministry of Hope airs tonight (Thursday, September 28) on RTÉ One at 10.15pm.