Ministering "on the fly": meet the airport chaplains

For the Rev. Michael Zaniolo, Ash Wednesday is the busiest day of the year. He’s the head chaplain at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, which had three Masses and 14 different ash ceremonies.

Here, services can’t go longer than 30 minutes to fit into workers’ breaks. He has his “regulars” at services—airport workers and airline employees as well as travelers who have made going to church part of their layover routine at O’Hare. He hears confession from many every day.

“They carry around a lot of spiritual burdens, and I’m a convenient guy,” he says. “I can help people get things out of their system or see things in a different perspective, or see where God might be.”

At least 140 airports around the world have designated chapels, and more than 250 have airport chaplains, according to the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains, an ecumenical non-profit organization. While chaplains are among the first-responders in the event of a crash, day to day they spend their time offering solace to travelers, consoling the bereaved, hearing confession or offering blessings to passengers before they board airplanes.

“It’s a ministry of presence,” says the Rev. Chris Piasta, a Roman Catholic chaplain at New York’s Kennedy International Airport. “Years ago people enjoyed flying. Nowadays, no one talks about an enjoyable experience anymore.”

Airport chaplains counsel people through the stress of both flying and daily living. Some travelers are filled with anxiety because of circumstance—they are on their way to funerals, medical treatment or family emergencies, for example. Many don’t have the time to go to church, synagogue or a mosque. So the faith institutions have come to them. Chaplains roam through airport train and tram stations, control towers and gate areas.

“We’re trying to be where people are at and move with people,” says Rabbi Bennett Rackman, who works out of JFK and hosts lunchtime study programs for workers, leads prayer sessions for Jewish travelers and offers blessings for youth groups about to depart to Israel. He believes JFK’s synagogue is the only airport synagogue in the western hemisphere.

It’s fascinating stuff.  Check out more.