Monte Cassino 80^th Anniversary – a chaplain’s perspective 

Having rehearsed the day for several hours before under dark clouds and steady rain, it was a relief that on the day of the Service of Remembrance itself the weather was kinder. With the invaluable support of Revd Ben Archibald CF, I helped craft the Order of Service and, up until the service itself, I was somewhat nervous that it would go as planned. This included the unwritten rubrics worked out in advance allowing time for the commander of the three Colour Parties to order change arms during a lengthy service. 

The Chaplain General’s practical experience of big occasions was vital as we made adjustments for a number of rather steep and potentially treacherous steps leading up to the Cross of Sacrifice. 

Through it all, the imposing and austere monastery on the summit of Monte Cassino loomed over the quiet beauty of the war cemetery.  More than one soldier mentioned to me, not only its iconic presence and self-evident ideal position to dominate the Liri valley and town, but how it seemed to ‘frame’ the daunting mountain range that reached along the valley. 

It is all too easy to be so intent on ensuring a service goes as planned that, rather than liturgy, it can become theatre. Yet, as the service started and my confidence grew my focus changed. As citations from the various allied nations present were read and particularly the personal testimony of Jack Hearn, now a hundred years old who had himself fought there, what deeply moved me was not the obvious courage and fortitude of those who must have quaked looking up at the obstacles they would need to overcome, but the depth of love that alone could have sufficiently bound them together for them to step out of what little cover there was to assault the German fortifications. 

In his reflections the Chaplain General, Revd Canon Michael Parker KHC CF, spoke of the religious significance of mountain tops and the sacrificial cost of love. I thought of the younger soldiers I look after who felt as privileged as I did to be there and how heart breaking it would be to see their loss. 

It is said that Monte Cassino surpassed even Stalingrad in its ferocity. In Matthew Parker’s book on the battle, a soldier spoke of the physical fear of going forward and the moral fear of turning back. 

Remembering the nearly fifty-five thousand allied casualties at Monte Cassino it may be simplistic to speak of love overcoming any and every obstacle but, when near to the end of the service we sang “Now thank we all our God”, if there was battle in which soldiers needed God’s presence in their hearts, it was this one.  

Reverend M Bezerra Speeks CF 

Chaplain, Honourable Artillery Company