CV NEWS FEED // The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, is sharing the stories of the chaplains who provided spiritual support amid the violence of the battlefield.
According to The Leaven, the “Sacred Service” exhibition opened on May 23 and is scheduled to run until September 2025. It will include artifacts, film, photographs, and first-person accounts.
The exhibition’s photographs depict worship services occurring wherever troops gathered: in trenches, bombed-out churches, caves, field hospitals, ships, forests, and mountainsides.
According to Patricia Cecil, specialist curator for faith, religion, and WWI, chaplains displayed creativity by improvising altars from available materials, such as overturned crates and sandbags.
“The sacrament of holy Communion offered spiritual strength and hope to many Catholic and Christian service members serving far from home,” Cecil noted, “and became deeply resonant for many who were so close to the possibility of death.”
Visitors will also be able to see chaplains’ personal materials such as devotional items, diaries, uniforms, vestments, and portable Communion sets.
One item on display is a New Testament a chaplain gave a soldier during the war. Chaplains often accompanied soldiers onto the battlefield, and records show that this chaplain was killed in action only days later.
“This gift, however, lives on, and the inscription on the interior communicates the connection between the two men,” Cecil stated.
According to Cecil, many people are unaware of the crucial role chaplains played during the war, the profound influence of religion on the conflict, and the lasting impact that continues to resonate today.
The exhibition, she explained, showcases how chaplains provided an invaluable service during a time marked by fear and horror.
