The National WWI Museum and Memorial announced its newest exhibition, Sacred Service. Open on Thursday, May 23, 2024, Sacred Service highlights the chaplains from many faiths and fighting nations in WWI whose service provided friendship, compassion and spiritual guidance.
With hundreds of thousands enlisting to fight, religious guidance and leadership became military priorities. Rabbis, pastors, monks, imams, priests and more answered the call. Many were as unprepared for the horrors of war as the soldiers they served, yet strove to bring courage, comfort and compassion to millions – on and off the battlefield. Sacred Service is a powerful view of the Great War beyond combat tactics and troop movements, and highlights the equally intense, yet singular experiences of the chaplains – whether faithful, doubting or visionary – as they counseled their legions.
“The individual stories of WWI highlight what ordinary people were experiencing during WWI. Sacred Service is a true and personal look into the experience of chaplains and the importance of faith, compassion and friendship during one’s bleakest hour,” said Matt Naylor, President and CEO of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Guiding visitors on a journey through the physical and spiritual environment of war, the exhibition incorporates artifacts, film, images, first-person accounts and – for the first time – interactive 3D digital models. Select objects will be accompanied by a QR code that leads guests to the digital platform Sketchfab to view the object in 3D. The technology allows an individual to maneuver the object in a digital environment, in some cases even flipping it over so see the bottom or back that would otherwise not be visible in the exhibition.
Admission to Sacred Service is included in a general admission ticket. A variety of engaging programs will support the exhibition.
Sacred Service is made possible through generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc., the City of Kansas City, Missouri Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund and by donors to the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Explore the Exhibition