As a chaplain at Sydney’s busy Westmead Hospital, Fr Sunil Nagothu SVD is no stranger to pain, suffering, fear and anxiety. But amidst all the turmoil, he says there is also a good measure of joy and the ‘honour and privilege’ of being with people at the most vulnerable time in their life, bringing them comfort and sometimes even helping them find a path home to God.
Fr Sunil has been a chaplain at Westmead for three years. He is part of a team of Catholic chaplains which includes four lay women, a religious sister, and a religious brother.
They also work with a team of chaplains from other faiths and Christian denominations.
“I work 50 hours a week from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening,” he says. “During those days I am at the hospital all day and I am on call during the night.”
The night calls are almost always an emergency situation or a call to be with a patient who is approaching death.
“If people are dying or have received bad news or are upset, they call the chaplain to receive some spiritual comfort and especially to receive the sacraments, the last rites, or an emergency baptism,” Fr Sunil says.
“Sometimes it’s the patient who requests we go, and sometimes it is the family. It is a privileged position to be there with people at such a vulnerable time in their life.
“Your presence, just being there, gives some sort of comfort to the family. It is very important for many people to have a representative of the Church there with them to affirm their faith and belief in vulnerable moments.”
Fr Sunil says however, that while many are comforted by the presence of a chaplain, others are not so welcoming.
“There is a lot of anxiety and fear and anger involved in these situations,” he says. “I understand that fear and anxiety and I share their pain and suffering too.
“Many people believe that the chaplain only comes at the last minutes of their life. So sometimes it is the family who wants to see me, to bring comfort, but the patient views me as the one who brings the last rites, death.
“Other patients tell me off and say they don’t want anything to do with the Church. And that’s ok. I never impose myself. When I am working on the wards, I pop my head in to the Catholic patients, and I introduce myself and ask simply, ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’
“Some may say ‘no thanks’, but others will ask for the sacraments or simply for company, for conversation, to talk through some of their anxiety. People are most often looking for comfort and for blessing.”
Fr Sunil says that hospital chaplaincy is difficult and challenging work, but it brings deep rewards.
“It is a very hard ministry and sometimes I feel so emotionally drained,” he says. “I know what I’m expected to do as a priest, but each situation is different and there is an apprehension there – what is this particular situation going to throw at me and how will I handle it? I rely on God for guidance and strength.
“Often the patients will get better and will go home and that’s great. Other times they won’t. But as people approach death they will sometimes begin to reassess their faith, sometimes after many years away from it, and we can talk it through and perhaps they’ll ask me to hear their confession and receive the sacraments. And then their death becomes a peaceful letting go to God which is both a blessing to them and their family.
“I have learned a lot about myself and my own ability to deal with pain and suffering. I’m also much more in touch with my own mortality now. But it is such a privilege to be with someone who can open up their lives to me, where a trust is established. That is a beautiful and a sacred moment and a huge responsibility.”
When he is not on chaplaincy duty, Fr Sunil works as Assistant Priest at St Anthony of Padua Parish, Toongabbie, in the Diocese of Parramatta.
“That’s where I gain some strength back,” he says. “Parish life and being with the people there, is the other side of life. It’s where I regain my balance.”