Ben Janzen, Dr. Theol., Ph.D., APBCC, Chaplain Bereavement Services Manager-VITAS Healthcare Ben grew up in Germany. Upon finishing High School, he joined the Franciscan Capuchin Order of the Catholic Church where he enjoyed his education as a Catholic Theologian within the Franciscan tradition. When he received his doctorate in Theology, he became a lecturer at the Franciscan College for Philosophy and Theology in Muenster, Germany. His love for Star Trek and anything SciFi brought him to the USA.

He studied comparative literature at UC Riverside working on the role of Spirituality and Religion in Star Trek and graduated with a Ph.D. in 2006. A year earlier, he had met his now husband Sal and consequently left the Order. Ben has been working with VITAS Healthcare, San Diego, as a Chaplain since 2010. He was trained at VITAS, and he worked as a resident and a team chaplain for five years. In 2015, he took the position of Bereavement Services Manager. He has been an advisor for Beautiful Dying since 2017. In 2018 Ben was certified as a Grief Recovery Method Specialist. Ben and Sal have a dog, Sammy, and they enjoy traveling, cooking, baking and anything having to do with food.