Military Chaplaincy

Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, flourishing his “V for Victory” hand gesture to a crowd of 50,000 from the balcony of the Ministry of Health building in London, England.

During the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)’s 100 years of existence, military chaplains have stalwartly provided Canada’s flying personnel with a ministry of presence.

Fr. Lester Mendonsa said he was transformed by his 11 years of experience as a military chaplain for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) from 2008 to 2019.

Richard Bernier was only sworn in as a military chaplain six months ago while Fr. Brad Sweet retired as “padre” on Oct. 19, but the two men share a common approach to their service in the armed forces.