By Lori Hadacek Chaplin
Pope Leo XIV’s 2025 apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te addresses caregivers and emphasizes their importance in a suffering world. In it, he declared, “The Christian tradition of visiting the sick, washing their wounds, and comforting the afflicted is not simply a philanthropic endeavor, but an ecclesial action through which the members of the Church ‘touch the suffering flesh of Christ.’”
Within the context of an aging United States population, there is a particularly urgent need to minister to those suffering from chronic illness and to the people who take care of them. According to the CDC, approximately 194 million adults in the US experience one or more chronic illnesses, while the AARP reports that there are more than 63 million adult caregivers.
Understanding that both the suffering and their caregivers experience loneliness and isolation, a new Catholic ministry called The Peace in the Storm Project aims to accompany them both to help foster faith, fellowship, and peace. The project, founded in 2023 by Catholic author Maureen Pratt, is available to dioceses, parishes, and individuals.
The project “seeks to eliminate the isolation from parish life and disconnection from God often experienced by caregivers and persons with chronic illness, ongoing pain, disability, and other life challenges.” It accomplishes this through small parish groups that utilize Pratt’s devotional entitled Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain and Illness, her book Peace in the Storm for Caregivers, and her discussion guides.
Pratt shared with Celebrate Life Magazine, “Our spiritual journey is what The Peace in the Storm Project focuses on. Always with Jesus in mind and heart, no matter how tough the journey might be, we have the example of Jesus all the way to the crucifixion.”
No stranger to illness
Pratt deeply understands chronic suffering, as her life has been plagued by pain and illness; because of this, she felt isolated and alone for much of her youth. When she felt sad, her mother would encourage her to pray, telling her that in times of suffering and loneliness she could “always talk to God.” That advice helped her make a connection with Him.
After earning an MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Pratt gained success as a playwright, but lupus (an autoimmune disease where the body attacks healthy cells and tissues) changed the course of her life, and she left behind her dreams of working as a scriptwriter.
Maureen recalled, “My rheumatologist said, ‘Lupus is trying to kill you, and if you don’t do something about it, it will.’ It was a complete shift in the direction of my life.”
To read the remainder of this article, visit the Celebrate Life Magazine site at clmagazine.org/topic/pro-life-champions/the-peace-in-the-storm-project-ministering-to-caregivers-and-those-suffering-from-chronic-pain-and-illness.
To read additional pro-life articles that will inspire and educate, visit clmagazine.org.