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Father Francis Htun, a Catholic chaplain at San Francisco General Hospital, and members of the hospital’s Catholic spiritual care team gather in front of the county medical center on Sept. 14. They discussed their work of spiritual healing with Catholic San Francisco. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)
September 27, 2018
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
On a Friday morning at San Francisco General Hospital, Father Francis Htun stood out in his Roman collar and clerics in a hallway filled with nurses and doctors. While not part of the medical staff, he is part of the healing mission of the hospital. Father Htun, the Catholic chaplain at the hospital, has the responsibility to provide for the spiritual needs of between 30 and 50 Catholic patients on a daily basis.
Htun, who began working at the hospital a year ago, told Catholic San Francisco that chaplain work attracted him because of the opportunity “to tell people our God is loving and forgiving, and the chance to tell people Jesus died for all of us, and loves and forgives us.”
Like the medical care providers at the hospital, Father Htun works as part of a team to serve patients. In addition to Father Htun, one deacon, four Missionaries of Charity and several extraordinary ministers of holy Communion volunteer weekly to visit patients, bring them Communion, and comfort them in their suffering.
Rosa Gallardo told Catholic San Francisco “this is a very beautiful ministry, and we have seen there is a great need for this ministry.” Amid the loneliness, sadness, and pain of a hospital stay, people need to hear a comforting word, she said.
Volunteers Rosa Gallardo, Celia Halsey and Rosy Garcia at a Catholic ministry meeting at San Francisco General Hospital. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)
Father Francis Htun, Catholic chaplain at the hospital, listens during the meeting. (Photo by Debra Greenblat/Catholic San Francisco)
Emilia Romero added “it’s about time we recognized spirituality is important to the healing of the person”.
Many of the patients they see are homeless and return to living on the street after they are released, Celia Halsey told Catholic San Francisco. “It’s a haven to come here,” she said.
Several of the volunteers at the hospital are Spanish speaking or bilingual, and all emphasized the importance of ministry to Latino patients. Many of the people they visit have lapsed in practicing their faith. While some of the people they encounter can be initially hesitant about talking to them, Gallardo said, “once they start talking they melt a little bit. They remember their traditions and love of Christ in the Catholic Church.”
“The Latino community needs that,” she added. “We’re raised as Catholics, we just need a sign, an invitation.”
Romero said the spiritual needs of the Latino community motivated her ministry at the hospital. “The language is so important,” she said.
A renewed emphasis on Spanish language ministry began at the hospital two years ago. San Francisco General is also preparing to launch a Spanish language grief group.
While bringing Communion to patients is the focus of volunteers’ ministry at the hospital, “in reality our ministry is very big,” said Rosa Gallardo. Ministry volunteers at the hospital answer questions about the faith, find out who needs to see Father Htun for confession or other sacraments, and act as the ambassadors of Christ on the hospital floors.
The enduring question of suffering, “why me?” is one they often encounter, the colunteers said.
“People ask if God is punishing them,” Gallardo said. “God is testing us a little bit to see how far we can handle it, how far we love him, how far our own faith goes.”
Gallardo, who lives with a chronic illness, said that answer gains more force when she shares her own experience of suffering with patients.
“When we share our personal experience, then the credibility of our ministry falls into place,” she said.
While their work is difficult, all agreed their ministry had enriched their faith. Halsey said their work “helps us to focus on Christ, to love and to serve. It has really deepened our faith, because you can only share what’s in your heart.”
Father Htun said that through working with patients, he has gained a deeper understanding of the meaning of suffering. “Every day I’m dealing with suffering and dying, and our God is joy in suffering. I feel like I’m dealing with Jesus when dealing with those who are suffering.”