By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
Donning a police hat, white shirt, and badge, Father Jacob Dankasa could easily be mistaken for a police officer at first glance; but a second look might reveal the stark clerical collar peeking through his uniform, a hint to the priest’s true role: police chaplain.
The Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church pastor is the Diocese of Dallas’ sole priest police chaplain currently serving in the Dallas Police Department, a responsibility he undertook well over a year ago at the behest of Bishop Edward J. Burns.
“I never thought about it until the bishop asked me,” said the priest, who had not served on any security or military force prior to the assignment, “and then I went to it joyfully.”
After completing a thorough process of background checks and fingerprinting — the same process any police officer would go through to begin his work in the department, the priest said — Father Dankasa officially joined the ranks of the Dallas police chaplains at the beginning of 2024, earning his badge and uniform.
“I feel a sense of privilege to be able to carry that badge with me,” he said, “and still carry out my priestly role.”
The fleet, the flock
As the pastor for his Holy Family of Nazareth community, Father Dankasa is kept busy tending to his local flock on a daily basis — celebrating weddings, baptisms, and first Communions, and seeing to the other ever-present needs of his faith family. Rather than considering police chaplaincy a distraction from these parish responsibilities, Father Dankasa said he sees his ministry with the police department as an extension of that pastoral role.
“I see the police officers as part of my flock,” the Irving pastor explained. “Just the way I find joy in attending to my parishioners, that’s how I find joy in attending to the police officers.”
Much like pastors of Catholic parishes, police chaplains tend to the spiritual wellness of those in their care — in their case, police officers and their families. The chaplains are tasked with the weighty responsibility of bringing hope and consolation to a population burdened with unusually heavy workplace stresses, including very real dangers they may be called upon to face from day to day, hour to hour.
“These are human beings,” Father Dankasa said. “These people have families. They go back home with this stress, and they come back to go and put themselves in harm’s way for us. So, a lot of things are going on in their heads.”
As a police chaplain, Father Dankasa accompanies the officers in the Dallas Police Department’s Northwest Division through these stresses, spiritually guiding them through faith challenges, sickness and injuries, or even death.
“We’ve called him to scenes before; we have called him to the hospital before,” Senior Corporal Jon Lumbley, coordinator of police chaplains for the Dallas Police Department, said of Father Dankasa, adding that, as a Catholic priest, Father Dankasa is a valuable resource for the Catholic members of the force.
“More than any other chaplain, you have to probably be ready to be exposed to more brutality, just because of what you see on the streets… the brutality of what mankind can do to each other,” the corporal continued; but by being willing to brave these conditions in order to serve the officers who serve the community, police chaplains like Father Dankasa “play an instrumental role” in promoting safety and peace in their communities.
“Father Dankasa has been a tremendous blessing to the Dallas Police Department through his pastoral care outreach,” Juan Rendon, Diocese of Dallas Catholic Social Ministries director, said of the priest. “He is a joyful presence of the Gospel to the police department.”
For his part, Father Dankasa said he is grateful for the opportunity to support police officers and their families through some of the challenges they face. Police officers need pastoral guidance, he said; so, when they want to talk about their families, their spiritual lives, or their struggles, he will be there.
Cutline for featured image: Father Jacob Dankasa, pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving, serves as a police chaplain for the Dallas Police Department. In this role, Father Dankasa offers spiritual accompaniment and consolation to officers and their families. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
