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the shepherd smelling like the flock when describing the breadth of service. His experiences at roll calls, on ride- alongs and in the streets returns a sentiment from officers that, “I can’t tell you how many times a copper has been in a messy spot and has told me, ‘Father, you won’t believe me. I pray every day.’ When they see what they see every day, how could they not?”
When he is on patrol, Deacon Bob Montelongo, one of three sworn officers and Lodge 7 members assigned to the ministry, hears a confession from coppers that prob- ably goes through their thoughts more often than not. He tells the story of a colleague who came to see him admit- ting to being an atheist but testifying, “I’ve seen so much on this job that I’m starting to doubt my own disbelief.”
Such are the incidents that motivate the chaplains to inspire members to keep the faith. Rabbi Moshe Wolf, the other civilian member of the ministry, believes the best part of his job is celebrating the miracles he has seen riding along with officers. One of these occurred on a below-zero January night when his officer/partner was about to end his tour. Just before midnight, the officer pulled into a gas station where he knew a homeless per- son would be sitting on the curb. He promptly took the man inside to buy him a cup of coffee and a sandwich.
“On the way back, he told me he did this on a regular basis because he never wanted to forget his roots and why he came on the job,” Rabbi Moshe explained. “That’s God’s children caring for His children.”
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The many calls Rabbi Moshe takes each day, the 14- hour tours Father Dan and Officer Montelongo trav- el each Wednesday, the numerous hospital visits Kimber-
ly Lewis-Davis, one of the sworn officers in the ministry, contributes to this being a ministry of presence. In 1980, Father Tom wanted to head that direction when the Arch-
32 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2016
diocese of Chicago assigned him to lead the Chaplains Unit Superintendent Richard Brzeczek formed.
Chaplains had served the Department long before then, and even Father Nangle had been providing support for officers the previous 10 years in addition to leading his parish. With six officers sworn in to serve in the unit, Chi- cago became one of the first - and still one of the only - cities with actual copper chaplains.
Then, Father Nangle went about making the presence felt. The unit was promoted in the daily bulletin and the chaplains spent a lot of time on the street. They went to roll calls and spent the ensuing four or five hours in the districts tracking calls on the street. The objective was to build what would enable the ministry to sustain, and it’s still the foundation of the movement.
“If they trust you, the whole ministry comes to life,” Fa- ther Nangle asserts. “Officers were kind of surprised to see clergy in their lane of life, but they got used to it pretty fast. And then they came to expect it, which was beauti- ful.”
The beautiful part was that CPD officers suddenly had a confidant that wasn’t a boss or a politician.
“Police officers are very critical thinkers,” Father Nangle continued. “So you had to sink or swim on your own mer- it, not on your costume or your title.”
In 30-plus years, Father Nangle led a ministry dedicat- ed to walking toward people who walked toward danger. When he retired on June 30, 2011, nearly every dignitary in the city and hundreds of officers attended his farewell party where he heard about the presence of the ministry.
“What struck me at the retirement party were the num- ber of people who came to talk to me that started the
Chaplain Bob Montelongo and Fr. Dan Brandt stop in for rst watch roll call in Englewood, joining Lt. Mike Murphy and PO Alicja Bochenek.
Retired Father Thomas Nangle was the initial director of the Chaplains Unit.