Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

As non-combatant commissioned officers and members of the chain of command, chaplains belong to the military organogram. At the same time, they belong to the Church from which they came and to which they would return after their military services. In times of war and peace, chaplains carry out multiple roles not only as spiritual guides, but also as voices of conscience, morale-boosters, counsellors, sources of hope, consolation, and mercy in the midst of military officers, their families, and others. The article considers the implications that the Jubilee Year of Hope has for the life and ministry of African military chaplains, especially, Catholic chaplains in the Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF), with particular reference to the Nigerian Navy. This is against the backdrop of insecurity, terrorism, kidnapping, piracy, ethno-religious violence, corruption, bad governance, ethnocentrism, unemployment, poverty, hunger, despair etc., that to a great extent define the Nigerian-African reality today.It found out that it, the Jubilee Year of Hope,calls them, among others, to a much more ministry of hope, presence, mercy and gratitude.

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