Sydney March, a leader of the Anointing Corps, said she has helped with the Corps since it was launched in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
March, an ER nurse at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and parishioner at Transfiguration in Oakdale, said that although the number of patients affected by COVID-19 have decreased, the group is still occasionally called upon to minister to a hospitalized person who cannot otherwise receive anointing of the sick.

Although the calls are less frequent, March continues to work to proactively build up a group of priests with the training to anoint people with highly contagious diseases. March told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley that she wants “to make sure we are prepared for the next pandemic.”
Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Transfiguration, serves as an Anointing Corps priest. He noted the importance of the sacrament.
“The anointing of the sick is a powerful and, I would say, oftentimes misunderstood sacrament these days,” he said. “As you well know, for many years in the life of the Church it was called extreme unction, and it really was a sacrament simply for those who were literally in the process of dying.”
The practice of the sacrament has since expanded.
“The Church’s understanding of (anointing of the sick) has become much more biblical since the Second Vatican Council, which is to provide grace to people going through an illness of various sorts in which the reality of death is brought before their mind.”
Father Erikson said that while the sacrament might result in healing, its primary aim is to “fortify the soul to carry the cross of illness well.”
“Jesus was present to the sick and suffering,” Father Erickson said. “The priest, of course, is acting in Persona Christi in these hospitals, in these bedsides, as an ambassador of Jesus. And Jesus wants to be with us in these moments of great suffering and pain.”
Father Erikson urged listeners to encourage their ill friends or family members to receive the sacrament — even if they are not currently practicing their faith.
“Be courageous friends and family to your non-practicing family members. Encourage them to call the priest. Don’t wait for the last minute. Encourage them now.”
March hopes to expand the Anointing Corps by integrating the required training into priestly formation in the archdiocese. She likened seminarians undergoing Anointing Corps training to “more soldiers being trained for deployment.”
To hear March and Father Erikson talk more about the Anointing Corps and anointing of the sick, listen to “Practicing Catholic” when it airs at 9 p.m. Feb. 16 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or when it repeats at 1 p.m. Feb. 17 and 2 p.m. Feb. 18.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes a discussion with Leah Libresco Sargeant about how to build a supportive community while Colin Miller shares what’s coming up at the Center for Catholic Social Thought. Plus, Father Jonathan Kelly, rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul, discusses discerning the call to the priesthood.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.