Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy is a profession that dates back thousands of years and records show that empires such as Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome had chaplains who were responsible for attending to the emotional and spiritual needs of emperors, military personnel and other members of the aristocracy. In the Christian religion, from the 5th century CE, it is noted that religious leaders were set aside to almost exclusively serve the emperor and members of his government. Traditionally, within Christianity, it is believed that chaplaincy officially has its origin in the person of Saint Martin de Tour, who was born in 316 AD in Pannonia, a Roman province at that time and which is currently part of Hungary.

Like his parents, Martin followed the polytheistic religion as a young man. When he was 16, he enlisted in the Roman military forces where he distinguished himself as a soldier and officer. It is said that at the age of 21 the troop he commanded was sent to Amiens de Gaul, in what is now France, and while there, one very cold night, he went for a walk outside the camp and noticed a beggar man who was pleading for help but was generally ignored by passersby. Martin had nothing to offer this man, as he only had the cloak he was wearing with him, but without thinking twice, he approached the beggar and after tearing his cloak in two, he offered one half to this man and kept the rest of it himself.

That same night, the belief goes, Martin had a vision where it was revealed that this beggar was actually Jesus Christ himself. This vision greatly disturbed him and motivated by this religious experience, he decided to become a Christian and was later baptized by Bishop St. Hilary.