A group of veterans and staff members at the Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center gathered in the recreation room the morning of Oct. 23 for a chance to meet Bishop Nelson Perez. The bishop stopped by the nearly 700-bed VA Medical Center in Cleveland for a quick overview of its services, the meet and greet and to celebrate Mass.
Father Maurice D’Souza, a VA chaplain, guided the bishop through a maze of hallways explaining services and introducing the leader of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland to the facility’s administrators, fellow chaplains, patients, staff and others.
“I’ve wanted to come and visit ever since I came to Cleveland,” the bishop said. He celebrated his two –year anniversary in the diocese last month.
The bishop took time to speak individually with several veterans, asking about their branch of service and where they served. He also posed for photos and selfies with veterans and staff members.
About three dozen people moved into the all-faith chapel for Mass at 11 a.m. The liturgy is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and 11 a.m. Monday through Friday in the chapel.
“You do great work with very special people,” Bishop Perez told staff members – including medical personnel – at the Mass. “Those of you here who served did so for a very grateful nation,” he said, adding he has heard many good things about the staff.
The bishop told the veterans that whether they knew it or not at the time they served, they were fulfilling a Gospel passage.
“Love is laying down your life for your friends. You who served in the military did exactly that. Some of you were hurt and you carry those scars – physical or emotional – that the Lord will look upon as a badge of honor,” Bishop Perez said. He told the veterans that the hospital is an expression of gratitude by the country for their services.
“Some of your friends took laying down their lives to the extreme when they died on the battlefield. I come here with the gratitude of the people of God for you carrying the scars of your service. Love can be difficult, but it is always life-giving,” the bishop said.
“Know that you are always in my prayers and I ask you to keep me in yours,” he added.
The Stokes Medical Center is one of the largest VA medical centers in the country. It offers a broad spectrum of both inpatient and outpatient services for men and women veterans including medical, surgical brain injury, spinal cord, dementia, addiction, vascular, dental and more.
In 2018, there were more than 12,000 admissions and more than 2 million outpatients – including nearly 9,000 women – served by the Ohio VA medical system.