ENHCC
European Network of Health Care Chaplaincy
Health Care Chaplaincy in Belgium
2002 Standards Document in French
Chaplains are working in general and university hospitals, mental health institutions and elderly homes. The majority of them are catholic as this is the major denomination in Belgium. Most denominational health care institutions are catholic and their spiritual care teams consist out of catholic chaplains. If patients have a different spiritual tradition, the institution will - upon their request - call for a chaplain of that denomination. Non denominational institutions have a team of usually catholic and atheist spiritual care givers. Chaplains of other denominations can also be called upon requests from patients.
Catholic chaplains are usually trained at the Catholic University of Louvain. After graduating, they can still participate in post-master trainings for health care chaplaincy. There is no national professional association of health care chaplains. Catholic Chaplains are organised per diocese. The dioceses also organise lectures and training according to the needs of their chaplains. The majority of catholic chaplains are lay men and women. A number of them are trained to be supervisors.
Belgian chaplains are facing challenges that they have in common with other Western European countries. The main one is doing chaplaincy in a time where health care reforms are focused on saving money and measurable outcomes
Anne Vandenhoeck
Dr. Anne Vandenhoeck is a Catholic chaplain from Belgium. She has more then 13 years of experience in health care chaplaincy: General Hospital A.Z. Damiaan in Oostende (2 years), University Hospital UZ. Gasthuisberg (10 years), CPE in UCSF San Francisco (3 months), Barnes Jewish Hospital St. Louis Missouri (1 year). At this moment she is a part time research assistant at the Catholic University of Louvain, Faculty of Theology, Department of Pastoral Theology. She also works at the diocese of Brugge as a responsible for the continuous education of chaplains. Anne is a supervisor and supervises theology students in their practical training. She is member of the advisory board of PlainViews [www.plainviews.org], and general secretary of the ECPCC.
Axel Liégeois
Axel Liégeois is a catholic moral and pastoral theologian from Belgium. He studied philosophy, theology and ethics was trained in counselling and pastoral supervision. At this time, he is professor of pastoral and practical theology at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Leuven. He holds the chair for pastoral and ethical research and teaching in the field of care for people with a mental disorder or a mental disability. He also works as ethical and pastoral advisor for the Brothers of Charity in Gent, a religious congregation with twenty five services for people with mental disorder or disability in Belgium.
[May 2008]