Emily Southerton serves as a Catholic Chaplain delivering spiritual care and support at Phoebe Ministries- a faith based, long term, assisted care facility in eastern Pennsylvania.
Originally from Michigan, Emily graduated from Aquinas College with a bachelor of arts, double majoring in philosophy and theology.
After her undergraduate studies she taught English in Ukraine at UCU (Ukrainian Catholic University) in Lviv, Ukraine. The fall of 2017, Emily entered the graduate program at Villanova University and graduated in 2019 with a master’s in theology and certification in pastoral ministry. During Emily’s time at Villanova she worked as graduate assistant with Latino/a campus ministry outreach. Emily facilitated a three-part series workshops for RCIA leaders on ministerial pedagogy at Romero Center Ministries. Emily served as an advisor on the San Diego VIA International Trip offered through Villanova Student Justice and Education (SJE) program. Emily also taught English (ESL) in Upper Darby through Villanova Community Outreach Volunteer (COV) program.
At Villanova Emily encountered her call to chaplaincy. She completed her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services near Byron Center Michigan. From 2019-2020 amidst the pandemic and getting married she began and completed a three unit- residency in CPE at Christiana Care Health System, in Newark Delaware. Currently, Emily is working towards becoming a board certified chaplain through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains (NACC).
In her profession and personal life, Emily enjoys: crafting devotions, chaplain chats, writing sermons, drinking tea, reading Pablo Neruda’s poetry, hiking waterways and water falls, and practically engaging theology through the lens of ethics, social justice, and social media.