Two factors from my youth that contributed to my decision to become a Chaplain. First, our Parish Chaplain, Father Legris, and the Scout movement began as Wolf Cubs and later evolved into Boy Scouts, where I learned to be of service and always be ready to help someone. In my mind, I had been a chaplain since my teenage years. The desire to help led me to become a Street Outreach Worker in French, “Travailleur de rue,” for an addiction center in 1993, and a Bivocational Minister since 1988. I was there, but not entirely.
So, it was normal to have the goal of becoming a real Chaplain working for the church. I was ordained a Chaplain in 2011. I have been working for the International Federation of Christian Chaplains since 14 November 2012. (https://www.facebook.com/ChaplainFederation) .
During my training with Révérend Michel Beaumier of the Evangelical Christian Church of Lorraine, on our way to lunch, walking side by side, he asked me why I didn’t have my own chaplaincy.
From this, I worked toward this new goal, my own chaplaincy. It took me two years, and it happened in 2014, when I registered with the federal government on 14 July. The Reverend Mary joined me in May 2012. She is a Baptist Minister, and we raised the chaplaincy until 2020 when I decided to become Catholic. Franciscan one.
I joined the National Association of Catholic Chaplains on 10 March 2022 (https://www.facebook.com/choosechaplaincy)
As the NACC and the IFCC are American, I sought a Canadian Chaplaincy, which I found and became an Affiliate on 27 September 2024 at the Canadian Practical Chaplain Association (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064838522731).
However, the Ministries remained Protestant, and after a resolution by the House of Bishops and the Board of Elders, the organization Eric Michel Ministries International became Catholic and requested an Amendment to our constitution, which Corporation Canada granted on 14 January 2025.