Province News

Fr. William O. Madden, SJ, recognized posthumously as 2001 Cook County Hospital Chaplain of the Year
Wednesday, January 09, 2002

Seated (L-R) Barbara Madden Rogers, Anne Madden Thomas, and Anne Madden, standing (L-R) Mrs. Robert Madden, Mr. Robert Madden, Bill Sakash, Karen Sakash Tully, Fr. John Pennington, SJ, Robert Madden Jr., Fr. Bob Finn, SJ, John Madden, Fr. Jim Chambers, SJ
Fr. William O Madden, SJ, was recognized posthumously by Cook County Hospital as chaplain of the year for 2001 at a luncheon Tuesday, January 8, at the Rosebud on Taylor St.

Fr. Madden, who died November 9, 2001 at the Colombiere Center in Clarkston, MI, had worked as a chaplain at Cook Country Hospital since 1981 when he developed an interest in clinical pastoral education. As a chaplain, Fr, Madden provided sacraments, spiritual guidance, accompaniment, and a friendly face to patients in the trauma ward at Cook County. A good deal of his time and energy was also devoted to working with patients being held in criminal custody.

Tuesday’s luncheon celebrated the remarkable contributions made over the course of twenty years by Fr. Madden, who once said, “We minister to everyone at Cook County, not just the Catholics. 80 to 90 percent of the patients are here because they can’t afford to go anywhere else. Other hospitals can’t take the poor like they used to. They can’t afford to. There has to be a hospital for the poor and indigent, but that doesn’t mean poor health care.”

The luncheon was punctuated by remarks of present chaplains, many of whom alluded to Fr. Madden’s sensitivity, generosity and concern for the poor. “People in crisis situations” observed Fr. Madden while still working at Cook County, “are much more vulnerable to hurts, and open to growth and healing on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. They’re at moments of decision in their lives. They might wish they weren’t; such moments were forced on them. But they are moments of decision. In ordinary life you don’t run into moments of decision every day, but you do at a hospital. We’re not tied down with a lot of administrative details so we have more time to spend with people.”

When Fr. Madden’s patients found themselves forced into moments of decision, he found his phone ringing, sometimes on Saturday, sometimes Sunday, sometimes in the middle of the night. But, he always answered the call, and he always made the trip down to Cook County, regardless of time or temperature.

Fr. Madden chatting with a patient at Cook County Hospital during his twenty years of service as a Chaplain
Fr. John Pennington, SJ, who served as a chaplain at Cook County alongside Fr. Madden for seven years said, “Bill was able to find Christ in the poorest of the poor. For 20 years he got up in the middle of the night for anybody who wanted a blessing, a baptism, or a sacrament of the sick. He was very faithful to the needs of the people at the hospital.”

At Tuesday’s luncheon, Don O’Connell, associate administrator for professional affairs, and Yogi Mahendra, deputy hospital director for professional affairs, presented nominations submitted by Fr. Madden’s peers to underscore the significance of his work at the hospital before presenting the Chaplain of the Year award to his twin brother Mr. Robert Madden.

The luncheon was attended by the chaplains of Cook Country Hospital, the Madden family, and the Jesuit chaplains at Cook County, Fr. Jim Chambers, SJ, Fr. Bob Finn, SJ, and Fr. Pennington.