Chaplain at Bethesda 1963
Father Bob Brengartner
In October 1961, Marine chaplain Father Bob Brengartner, a priest of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, received new orders assigning him as a chaplain at the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
Two years later, the 47-year-old priest was cast into a pivotal moment in American history. In his own words:
On November 22 other Catholic chaplains and I were attending a seminar at Georgetown University. While there, we received word that President Kennedy had been assassinated. I immediately rushed back to (Bethesda). I had to say Mass at 5:00 PM anyway. The Mass was full of doctors and nurses who were very upset, and I offered the Mass for President Kennedy. The Admiral of the Navy then asked me to represent the Navy when the President’s body arrived at the hospital.
When the body arrived:
My most vivid memory of the event came when I went out to meet the ambulance. Jackie Kennedy got out of the ambulance and her dress was still covered with blood. I could tell that Jackie was very broken-hearted when I helped her out of the ambulance. She said nothing. What could she say? Robert and Ethel Kennedy were with her, and they too were very broken-hearted. I did all I could to console them. They asked if they could go to the hospital chapel and pray, so I gave Jackie a rosary and escorted them to the chapel. They prayed in the chapel for the whole three hours while the President’s body was undergoing an autopsy.
Two days later, Father Brengartner’s Sunday homily was a tribute to the late president. The following Wednesday, Congresswoman Elizabeth Kee of West Virginia read and entered the homily into the Congressional Record.
Elizabeth Kee (1895-1975) served six terms in the House of Representatives, becoming Catholic while in office.
Father Bob died in 1999 at age 83. As a military chaplain who served during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam he was eligible for burial in Arlington National Cemetery, but instead chose St. Mary’s in Massillon, Ohio, where he lived in retirement.
Beautiful...thank you, Jim🙏🇺🇸
I was in my early 20’s when President Kennedy was assassinated, but I don’t remember seeing this photo of Bobby, Ethel and Jackie getting into the ambulance, or hearing that they spent the hours at the hospital praying in the chapel. Thank you for sharing