Army Chaplain: They do the soldiering - I do the praying

Interviews from the International Military Pilgrimage that took place at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in May 2019. Father P J O'Driscoll is a chaplain - a 'padre' - serving the Army's 22 Signal Regiment, based in Stafford. He looks after 2,500 soldiers. So how did he decide his calling was to serve as a military chaplain in the army having been a parish priest in Ireland? "I wanted to do something different - I didn't want to look back when I'm 60 and say 'why didn't I do it?' When I read about padres being with their soldiers I embraced that. For me, in my Christian ministry as a priest, it was like Christ being with his people. Wherever we are in our daily lives - doing PT, going out on exercises, walking around the garages talking about all sorts of things." "The lads, in their own way, find spirituality and help me in my spirituality as well. They do the soldiering - I do the praying on their behalf! It's me and the Lord on behalf of the soldiers."