Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move

N° 110, August 2009

Annual Meeting of the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Airport Chaplains*

The chaplains and pastoral agents, who carry out their mission in the different airports of the United States of America, gathered together for their annual meeting this year from 20 to 24 April at the Cardinal Stitch Retreat House located on the campus of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.

The retreat house was a particularly fitting venue for the first two days of the annual meeting dedicated to a course on “Pastoral Crisis Intervention”. It aimed to assist the participants in learning how to integrate pastoral intervention with traditional psychological crisis intervention to effectively act in response to the needs of first responders and airport employees who may experience post traumatic stress disorder after an airplane or airfield incident, especially if it involves the loss of life. The course was given by Major David A. Dalberg, Director of the Emergency and Disaster Services of the Salvation Army. He is a certified International Critical Incident Stress Foundation instructor of courses on Critical Incident Stress Management.

The following days were dedicated to a discussion of NCCAC business and a sharing of the activities of the various airport chaplaincies represented. Sr. Myrna Tordillo, Coordinator of Human Mobility Apostolates for the Bishops Conference of the U.S.A. illustrated the recent changes in the organization of the offices in the Conference, specifying that Airport Chaplaincies are now under the umbrella of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church. Ms. Nilda Castro, Officer-in-charge of the Section on the Pastoral Care of Civil Aviation of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People read to the assembly the message from the Archbishops President and Secretary of the Pontifical Council.    

The uplifting Eucharistic celebrations and the family atmosphere that was present all throughout the gathering made the Annual Meeting inspiring and memorable. The participants were encouraged to hope for an even more fruitful harvest in the years to come.

Ms. Nilda M. CASTRO

Official of the Pontifical Council

for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People