By Cahors editorial staff
Published on 7 Mar 21 @ 7:32 am
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Like the nursing staff, Claire Trizis walks dynamically through the corridors of Cahors hospital in a white coat, main healthcare facility in Lot, to fulfill its mission: “to meet those who need it”.
This lay chaplain, mother of four children, chose to stop her profession as a veterinarian to become “with the agreement of your husband (s) and the adhesion of the children”, “doctor of souls”.
Interview.
Chaplaincy of Cahors hospital
News: What is a hospital chaplaincy?
Claire Trizis: It is a full-fledged service of the hospital animated by chaplains of various religions surrounded by a team of volunteers and (for Catholics) by an accompanying priest. Five cults are recognized by the state: Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Muslim worship and Buddhism.
“I am called to respond to spiritual need, whatever it may be, and to accompany, listen and support”
While everyone has their place in hospitals in France, the framework is strict and regulated by the Administration. An employee of the Cahors hospital where I have been practicing since September 2020, I am called to respond to any spiritual need, whatever it is, and to accompany, listen and support.
How does the hospital situation look today after a year of pandemic?
C. T. : The services are under pressure because of the cumbersome protocols, the need for adaptation and permanent reorganization, impacts on the workforce (staff absences for sick leave). Listening time is scarce. During the first confinement, the chaplains were not allowed access to hospitals. Let us remember the turmoil aroused in public opinion.
The virus has changed our working method and the ARS (Regional Health Agency) requires compliance with strict rules to which I must submit a monthly activity report. For a year now, lay volunteers have not been able to enter the rooms. The chaplain alone is approved and only responds to the request of the sick or the families. We need to make ourselves better known through more communication (in the welcome booklet for newcomers), through office hours, through the presence and animation of a space of meditation.
You occupy this function of Catholic chaplain in a public hospital with 350 beds. What does your mission consist of?
C. T. : Since my arrival, over the months, the relationship with the hospital staff has evolved. We get to know each other better. We work together for the benefit of patients. It is necessary to underline the will of the administration to consider the human person whatever his opinion and his beliefs. I therefore respond to their worship needs (prayers, sacraments, proposal for the presence of a priest). I pay particular attention to the patient and his family but also to the nursing staff whose task is difficult.
Support for patients at the end of their life
You accompany patients sometimes until their last breath …
C. T. : Separation is never easy for anyone. For those who have received it, the sacrament of the sick brings great relief for themselves but also for their spouses and children.
At the end of their life, some patients can no longer express themselves, can no longer make the sign of the cross but manifest by a gesture or a look, a deep need to ask for prayers. At the ultimate door of his life, the person is often imbued with strength and courage. As Christians, we know that death is the beginning of a new existence.
How did you feel when you first entered the room of a patient with covid, protected from head to toe against this invisible enemy?
C. T. : All these sanitary protections put a lot of distance and do not facilitate contact. Even if we can live with it, the armor gets in the way. Mask, medical cap, glasses, distance of one meter, obligation of no physical contact are human barriers that limit. The possibility of habitual language becomes complicated. You have to rely on the wishes of the person themselves or their family. So, I pray, I make an intercessory prayer for the sick person, for his relatives. Silence is also part of the exchange. The Presence can pass without saying anything to itself: I let God work.
Do you talk to them about God?
C. T. : Yes, we approach God together, through an “Our Father”, a “Hail Mary”, a need for the sacrament of anointing. I remember the family of a suicide who, however, non-practitioner, insisted that a chaplain come to pray at the foot of the deceased.
The call of the Mission
Is it chance that you are in this position today?
C. T. : Sure, no. There has been a journey for me. Having worked as a veterinarian for about thirty years, I attached great importance to relationships even if it was only about animal owners. I met all the social classes there, I saw a panel of humanity scroll by. Having strongly committed myself on a path of Faith, I wished to receive the sacrament of confirmation. Then, I felt drawn to the Pastoral of Health.
In September 2019, during a visit to Rocamadour, I felt a call, the call to mission. In the evening, I said to myself: “I want to be a hospital chaplain”. Discernment followed. This choice was imposed on me in complete freedom. Happy to have been chosen, I was filled with a deep joy and animated by a great peace.
Do you think God had a plan for you?
C. T. : God helps me a lot in my mission. I broke away without regret from my previous activity. It is a sign that I am in total harmony with the desire of my heart: I feel more useful. Even a sick call on a Sunday at 1 p.m. is neither a burden nor a sacrifice for me. I respond to it to be in accordance with the plan that God has proposed to me. And in the quiet evening, after long moments of silence, I need to pray a lot. I also take advantage of my relatives, the calm of the countryside.
Has your faith sustained you?
C. T. : Without faith, we can do nothing. Prayer is essential to me. The chaplain must carry with him many things in his interiority. He must always listen. Carrying out such a function on its own human resources is impossible. Only God can bestow the necessary strength. It is up to me to know where to draw and to nourish myself with his Word, the sacraments and exchanges within the Community.
ANDRÉ DECUP
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