Contemplation and compassion: the heart of a Franciscan spirituality of clinical pastoral supervision

After five years of supervising CPE modules in two different hospitals in South Africa, a chaplain supervisor reflects on how his Franciscan spirituality had impacted his supervisory ministry. He describes how he was able to narrow the impact to two defining Franciscan qualities: contemplation and compassion. This article explores the relationship between spirituality and clinical pastoral supervision. Then the Franciscan dimension of contemplation and compassion of Franciscan spirituality are considered. Finally some contours of a Franciscan spirituality of clinical pastoral supervision are described.