Clinical Pastoral Education

At Saint Agnes, our mission is to heal the body, mind and spirit while serving as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities. The Clinical Pastoral Education program, hosted at Saint Agnes, is one of the many ways our mission can be seen in action. 

The national program aims to train academically-qualified individuals who want to be professional chaplains in a hospital, local church or temple, a prison, in the military or for an industry.

Students attend weekly classes at the Saint Agnes Administrative Plaza and provide spiritual care at hospitals throughout the Valley, including Saint Agnes. Through the program, students get to know first-hand what it is like to be a chaplain and the daily challenges they face in the hospital setting by working in collaboration with full-time chaplains and professionals from other health care disciplines.

Frank Beazley, former Saint Agnes vice president of Mission Integration, says there are many benefits to having an onsite Clinical Pastoral Education program.

"More of our patients and staff can have their spiritual and faith concerns addressed," he says. "It works as a real asset toward improving the patient experience and reflects our passion to address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of everyone who comes through our doors."

The students have to complete a total of four units to graduate from the program in order to pursue a professional chaplain position. Each unit requires a minimum of 400 hours of practice with 100 hours of that being classroom time.

"This not only benefits Saint Agnes, but the greater Fresno community," he says. "As we graduate our chaplain residents they will be able to fill the needs of other health care institutions as well as prisons and other facilities throughout the Valley. The Clinical Pastoral Education program helps to meet a commitment we make to serve the broader needs of the community." 

For more information, visit www.cpecentralca.org, or contact:

Rev. Ki Do Ahn, CPE Program Supervisor 
CPE of Central California 
(559) 492-7055 
kidoahn@cpecentralca.org