Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Chaplaincy Unit

Chaplains serve at the discretion of the Sheriff. Chaplains include representatives of all faiths who volunteer their time without compensation as a catalyst of reconciliation, bringing God’s message to the community when they need it the most. Through their training, calling and professionalism a Chaplain may respond to death notifications, natural disasters, fatal vehicle crashes, domestic violence disputes and many other critical incidents that can benefit from spiritual support.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Chaplaincy Unit is a very diverse group of religious leaders, young and old. This group represents the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These men and women of faith who make up the Chaplaincy Unit come from many parts of the country and shepherd flocks large and small.

Within the Judaism faith, we represent the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox branches. Within the Christian faith, we represent many denominations from Evangelical to Mainline including Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Priests. Our Imam is a journalist and well-known leader of our African American community.

The Chaplaincy is not an opportunity for evangelizing or church building, but a ministry of presence to provide aid and comfort to those in need.

A Daily Prayer

“LORD TAKE ME WHERE YOU WANT ME TO GO

LET ME MEET WHO YOU WANT ME TO MEET

TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ME TO SAY

AND KEEP ME OUT OF YOUR WAY.”

Fr. Mychal Judge

Fr. Mychal Judge was a larger-than-life well-known FDNY Chaplain.  On September 11th, 2001 Father Judge rushed into the World Trade Center without a thought for his own safety.  His only thought and mission as he entered the tower was to seek out Firefighters he might provide comfort to.  He was administering the sacrament of last rites to a fatally injured Firefighter when debris fell.  The debris fatally struck Judge calling him home for his final mission.

Judge is a true hero and was described by one if his colleagues as “…one of greatness of heart, and a man that will never be forgotten”.