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Canterbury-Bankstown Council has unanimously backed calls for a dedicated Christian chapel at the new $2 billion Bankstown Hospital, arguing spiritual care deserves a place alongside medical treatment.

Canterbury-Bankstown Council has unanimously recommended that the state government provide a Christian chapel in the new $2 billion Bankstown Hospital.

Deputy Mayor Rachelle Harika, who drafted the proposal, said her motion had “incredible support” on 27 October.

“All I am asking is for the existing facilities at Bankstown Hospital, a Christian chapel and two separate prayer rooms, to be replicated at the new hospital,” she said in a social media post.

Two petitions on change.org for a chapel have gathered almost 10,000 signatures.

One of them explains why the multi-cultural, multi-religious community needs a chapel.

“The lack of a Christian space for the new hospital’s Christian visitors is a logistical nightmare for its multi-faith community.

It will entail people of all different creeds and religions frequenting limited multi-faith spaces,” wrote the petitioner.

“To deal with this logistical problem, the Christian people of Canterbury-Bankstown, as a significant proportion of the LGA’s population, must be able to have their own chapel of solace, prayer and worship.”

A Diverse Community With Strong Religious Needs

The Canterbury-Bankstown council, which will be served by the hospital, is one of Australia’s most religious and most diverse.

Like other western Sydney LGAs, around 75 per cent of the population profess some religion – compared to only about 45 per cent in the inner west and North Shore. About 42 per cent are Christian and 24 per cent Muslim, with the rest mainly secular, Buddhist, or Hindu.

The new 14-storey teaching hospital is a massive project. It is located on Chapel Road at a former TAFE site in the heart of Bankstown’s CBD, not on the footprint of the old hospital campus. Along with state-of-the-art facilities, it will have a 10-storey car park.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 when the design is completed.

But within the facilities, there apparently is not enough space available for a dedicated chapel and Muslim prayer rooms.

The state government’s website on the project explains that hospitals are mainly meant for healthcare, not spiritual care.

“Faith spaces are therefore designed as shared facilities that can respond flexibly to the needs of patients, visitors and staff,” it says.

Hospitals Must Provide More Than Medical Care

In her motion to the council, Harika argued that hospitals have a spiritual dimension.

“Hospital chapels and prayer spaces have long provided comfort, dignity and solace to people experiencing illness, uncertainty, grief and end-of-life circumstances. They can offer an important place for quiet reflection and spiritual support alongside the medical care provided by hospitals,” she wrote.

“For many patients and families, access to prayer and spiritual support is an important part of navigating challenging health experiences. A dedicated chapel would provide a welcoming space for members of the Christian community to draw on their faith at times when they may need it most.”

The senior Muslim chaplain with NSW Health, Mohamed Elshafei, told The Catholic Weekly that most hospitals in the state have only multifaith facilities and that people need to be realistic about the availability of prayer spaces in cramped hospitals. “Sharing is caring,” he commented.

However, he said that ideally, Muslims would prefer separate prayer rooms.

The deputy mayor insisted to The Catholic Weekly that the local community prefers the old arrangement.

“As a community, Bankstown has highest religious observance rates in the state, both the local Christian and Islamic communities will benefit from their existing chapel and prayer rooms being retained in the new hospital. That is a win for faith across the board,” she said.

Patients and Families Share the Comfort of Prayer

Parish priest of St Luke’s Catholic church in Revesby, Fr Dariusz Basiaga SDS, is on call for ministering to patients at Bankstown Hospital. He was delighted to hear that Canterbury-Bankstown Council supports the idea of providing a chapel.

“We need to support those who are suffering, and the doctors, nurses who are dealing with the people who are suffering, and the family members, and so on,” he told The Catholic Weekly.

“People need a prayer room where God is there saying, ‘Come to me, come to me in any situation, whatever happened to you, come to me, spend time with me.”

Some of the comments on the petitions pay tribute to arrangements at the old hospital.

Brooke writes: “A few years ago, when I had a near-death experience, having a Catholic prayer room helped me out a lot. It kept me closer to God when I was able to go to church, and I was in hospital for three and a half months. It also helped me through depression.”

Antoinette says: “When my mother was hospitalised after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I spent many days and nights by her bedside. The chapel that was available in the hospital where she was being treated offered a place of solace and peace during a very difficult time.”

According to Harika, State MP for Bankstown Jihad Dib has raised the issue of a chapel for the new hospital with NSW Health Minister Ryan Park.

The Catholic Weekly reached out to NSW Health for comment prior to publication.

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Republished with thanks to The Catholic Weekly.
Image: Artist impression of the new main entry from Chapel Road, Bankstown. Photo: NSW Government Website.