New Chaplain General and Director General, Military Personnel Chaplain Division for the Canadian Armed Forces
May 29, 2025 - Defence Stories
Caption
Chief of Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan presents the Chaplain General Mandate to Colonel Lisa Pacarynuk, with Lieutenant-General Lise Bourgon (left), Commander of Military Personnel Command and Chief Military Personnel, and Reverend Marlene Britton, Vice Chair of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC), during the Canadian Armed Forces Chaplain General Installation Ceremony at National Defence Headquarters Carling in Ottawa, Ontario on 28 May, 2025.
On May 16, 2025, Colonel Lisa Pacarynuk assumed the role of Chaplain General from Brigadier-General Guy Bélisle. As the first-ever woman to serve as Chaplain General, Colonel Pacarynuk assumes responsibility for providing spiritual leadership, guidance, and support to military personnel, and effectively integrating spiritual care and services into military operations.
Concurrently, Brigadier-General Stéphane Racle was appointed to the new position of Director General, Military Personnel Chaplain Division. Brigadier-General Racle, in this new role, will be responsible for the leadership, strategic oversight, and effective management of the Military Personnel Chaplain Division. The position is tasked with overseeing the efficient and coordinated operation of all chaplaincy-related functions in the military, focusing on staffing, training, resources, policy development, and operational support to military personnel.
The official Installation Ceremony was held on May 28, 2025, and was presided over by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Jennie Carignan.
“I am pleased to see the appointment of Colonel Lisa Pacarynuk as the new Chaplain General of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff. “An experienced and compassionate leader, she will continue providing the remarkable spiritual leadership—qualities that will serve our members and their families well in this crucial transition period for the CAF. I also congratulate Brigadier-General Stéphane Racle on his new position. He brings wide ranging knowledge and leadership to the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service so key at a time when the CAF is undergoing historic transformations. I am confident that, together, they will bring the Chaplain General Branch and Services to new levels for a modern Force.”
This new structure for the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service will increase the capacity of the Chaplain General to focus on serving spiritual and morale needs of an increasingly diverse makeup of CAF members, and leading other CAF Chaplains in their pursuit of this goal. This represents a modernization of the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service to improve operations and better integrate it within the CAF as a whole.
“The Canadian Armed Forces’ chaplaincy is integral to our members, and it is my honour to take on this new role to ensure we continue to provide our members the spiritual and moral guidance that is essential to this country’s military force,” said Brigadier-General Racle, Director General, Military Personnel Chaplain Division.
“It is an honour to be appointed Chaplain General for the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Colonel Pacarynuk, Chaplain General. “I will be leading a diverse team of Chaplains whose spiritual support and guidance to CAF members and their families make such positive impact on people’s lives.”
Brigadier-General Bélisle is retiring from the CAF after almost 40 years of service, including more than 20 years with the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service, and the last four as Chaplain General.
We thank Brigadier-General Bélisle for his work in this role over the last four years.
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