HealthLinksSC.com | 63 Father Duncan sees miracles in his work. He described as “a simply beautiful scene” watching a man be cared for by his sister as if he were her own child. Over the years, he has experienced a similar miraculous moment more than once. While visiting a patient reluctant to let go of her life on Earth, Father Duncan offered last rites, accompanied by prayers and anointing and followed by the final blessing: “Go forth, Christian soul.” Upon this invitation to reunite with God, the patient’s once-labored breathing stopped, and the machines surrounding the room marked the end of the patient’s life. Father Duncan described this moment as “miraculous and beautiful” and the patient’s “moment to see the Lord.” Hospital chaplains are able to recognize social, emotional and spiritual needs of patients that might escape the focus of doctors and nurses. Each of these elements plays a role in the health of a human being, according to Father Duncan: “Medicine is beginning to see the person not just as a collection of diseases but as an overall person who has to be cared for as an overall person. Chaplains have increasingly become a part of that care team.” Over time, as Father Duncan has worked with patients, he has adopted the message that “you are more than your body.” He believes chaplains are reminders that every person is also a heart and soul with needs, wants and desires. His team at St. Francis and hospital chaplains worldwide offer messages of hope, strength and peace while establishing Father Duncan’s belief that “You’re more than your disease; you’re more than your treatment; you’re more than your prognosis. To me, if we believe that people are more than just their bodies and more than just their diseases, then, of course, chaplains are essential and they are going to care for the whole person.” Chaplains are acutely aware of each human aspect that makes up people and how to care for them. Father Duncan believes that “chaplains are now, and increasingly over the last few decades, have become health professionals in their own right.”
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