A. DiNardo
ROME-RUTHENIA 20 July 2026
New honor of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church recognizes sustained and meritorious service in chaplaincy, spiritual care, humanitarian ministry, and related pastoral fields
The Pontifical College of Chaplains of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church has announced the first recipients of its newly established fellowship, an honor recognizing distinguished service in chaplaincy, spiritual care, institutional ministry, and related works of mercy. His Holiness the Roman-Ruthenian Pope conferred the first four fellowships upon the Rev. Elliott Francis, TOR Mar; the Rev. Archpriest Guy Mackey, OPA; and H.Ill.H. the Most Rev. Peter McInnes. A fourth fellowship was awarded posthumously to H.E. the Rt. Rev. Archabbot Anthony Giunta, TOR Mar. The four recipients are the inaugural members of the College and may use the postnominal letters FPCCh.
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| Example of the 16"x20" brevet issued to Fellows of the Pontifical College of Chaplains. |
Established as a collegiate body of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, the Pontifical College of Chaplains recognizes people who have rendered significant, sustained, or meritorious service in chaplaincy and associated pastoral fields. These areas include spiritual care, institutional ministry, humanitarian service, veterans’ ministry, emergency response, and bereavement support.
Archabbot Giunta’s ministry included service as a hospital, police, sheriff’s department, fire service, and United States Coast Guard chaplain. The posthumous honor recognizes the breadth of his pastoral work among people facing illness, danger, bereavement, public emergencies, and the particular demands of uniformed service.
Admission to the College may be granted by petition, nomination, or appointment. The College has a single grade of membership: Fellow of the Pontifical College of Chaplains. And, although established within the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, the fellowship is not restricted to people serving within its canonical structure. Recipients may also belong to other Christian churches, reflecting the frequently ecumenical nature of chaplaincy and institutional pastoral care.
Fellows may include clergy and members of religious orders. The College’s statutes nevertheless maintain a distinction between fellowship and the ecclesiastical office of chaplain. The title and function of “Chaplain,” in the proper ecclesiastical sense, remain reserved for members of the clergy.
The College may also recognize religious and laypeople whose work supports or closely accompanies chaplaincy. These may include Religious Sisters in Pastoral Service and Laymen or Laywomen in Pastoral Service who are qualified and active in spiritual care, humanitarian assistance, institutional visitation, bereavement ministry, veterans’ support, emergency-response service, or similar works. Their admission as Fellows recognizes the importance of their contributions without implying that they hold the ecclesiastical title or office of chaplain.
The establishment of the fellowship draws attention to forms of ministry that are often conducted away from the public eye. Chaplains and pastoral-care workers routinely serve in hospitals, hospices, military and veterans’ institutions, law-enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency-response organizations, correctional settings, and other environments in which individuals and families may be experiencing crisis, trauma, loss, or profound uncertainty.
Through the fellowship, the Pontifical College of Chaplains seeks to honor both formal chaplaincy and the wider network of pastoral and humanitarian service that supports people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. The inaugural appointments of Francis, Mackey, McInnes, and Giunta establish the foundation of the new College and its stated commitment to recognizing sustained service, pastoral dedication, and works of mercy across ecclesiastical and institutional settings.
