Anthony Mangone was serving on the USS New Jersey off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon, when he learned his grandfather was facing a medical emergency.
It was 1983, Mangone had not been home on military leave for years, and his grandfather was about to undergo a triple bypass.
“It was the chaplain on the USS New Jersey who helped facilitate my travel home,” said Mangone, of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Turnersville. “He was very important in organizing phone calls and getting the information from stateside while we were in Beirut. It took me over 20 hours, and a few stops, but I got back.”
Mangone, a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus, is among the countless servicemen and women who have been helped spiritualty and physically by those who serve as chaplains in both the U.S. Armed Forces and civilian life. He is also among those who attended a Veterans Medal Awards Ceremony on the Battleship New Jersey in Camden during the first weeks of fall. Organized by the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs, the ceremony honored veterans from the Korean War to the War on Terror.
Deacon Mike Bortnowski, director of the Hospital Chaplaincy Program, a ministry of VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services of the Diocese of Camden, gave the invocation aboard the battleship.
“In every age, you call certain persons to defend God’s children from oppression, persecution and evil,” he preached. “Help us to always remember them, to pray for them and to care for them. We pray that you give them peace when they suffer from past trauma. May they know the debt of gratitude that we owe them for the freedom of our country.”
Deacon Bortnowski, whose father and brother both served in the U.S. Army, called it an honor to represent the chaplaincy and the Diocese in celebrating the veterans of Camden County.
“They served our country with such honor and courage; they have made so many sacrifices in their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we enjoy today. I think a lot of us take that for granted – the sacrifices and the courage and the commitment that they have. They truly are heroes, including those who weren’t at the event because they made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said.
“Today in our society, we put celebrities, actors, social media influencers, professional athletes on pedestals, but we leave out our war veterans,” he continued. “We should be putting them on pedestals, too.”
It was doing exactly that – shining the spotlight on military heroes – that led to Deacon Bortnowski being aboard the Battleship New Jersey. After preaching during a Mass on the true story of “The Four Chaplains” at Holy Eucharist Parish, Cherry Hill, parishioner Ted Gallagher, director of the Camden County Office of Veterans Affairs, asked Deacon Bortnowski to give the invocation at the awards ceremony.
“The Four Chaplains” recounts how in February 1943, a U.S. Army transport ship carrying 902 servicemen, merchant seamen and civilian workers was struck by a German submarine off the coast of Greenland – only 150 miles from its destination. In the cold, dark and early morning hours, panic and chaos struck. In addition to calmly offering help and sacrificing their own lifejackets, the four chaplains – each of a different faith – linked arms to brace themselves against the slanting deck. Survivors in lifeboats remembered hearing the voices of the chaplains as they offered prayers and sang hymns before the boat finally slipped beneath the icy waters. Only 230 people survived.
Today, an official Chapel of Four Chaplains is located near the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Drawing parallels between hospital chaplaincy and that of the military, Deacon Bortnowski said, “Though we are not ministering to veterans per se, we are ministering to those in need. In the hospitals, we are providing emotional and spiritual support to Catholic patients, their families and even staff members during difficult times.”
He continued, “Like the four chaplains, we work together as a team. We’ve got Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, priest-chaplains and associate chaplains going arm in arm through these 16 hospitals and healthcare facilities. We sit with those who need us, spend time with them, listen to their families and pray with them.”
Deacon Bortnowski, who serves as a part-time chaplain in Cooper University Hospital, Camden, said a reading from Matthew 25 inspired him to the hospital chaplaincy: “I was sick, and you visited me.”
Hospital visits were also something he experienced firsthand growing up. “My mother was hospitalized throughout my life, especially when I was a young man. I found a certain comfort going to visit her, care for her, interacting with the staff, other patients and families.”
He also recalls visiting the chapel at Camden’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. “I’ll never forget the feeling of going into the chapel and the special feeling of being there with my father by my side.”
He continued, “All that put together really led me to the hospital chaplaincy, and to the deaconate, for that matter. As chaplains, we are doing God’s work. We are his eyes, ears and feet within the hospital. It is such a humbling and fulfilling ministry.”
Deacon Bortnowski said he hopes he is invited to offer blessings at future veterans events. Admitting that he was thinking of his father and “some of the sacrifices he made during our family life” during the awards ceremony, he said, “I was so proud to represent all types of chaplains at the event. We always need to remember our veterans and honor them.”
Did You Know?
The Hospital Chaplaincy Program, a ministry of VITALity Catholic Healthcare Services of the Diocese of Camden, covers 16 hospitals/healthcare facilities across South Jersey. Some statistics to date (January-September 2022):
• Number of pastoral care visits to Catholic patients, families and staff: 41,960
• Holy Communion distributed to Catholic patients, families and staff: 15,021
• Sacrament of the Sick/Anointings administered by priest chaplains: 2,681
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