Spiritual Care

Nicolas El-Kada BAA, LTh, RP is a Professional Practice Coordi​​nator for Spiritual Care Services. Nicolas has a Licentiate in Theology from The Holy Spirit University-Lebanon, a​​ master’s degree in psychotherapy, counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University, Ottawa and certificate in leadership and management from Rotman and Telfer Schools of Business – Toronto and Ottawa.

Nicolas has been a Spiritual Care Practitioner at The Ottawa Hospital since 2006 and the Clinical Pastoral Education Coordinator since 2012. He is a professor at the palliative care program at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. He is a multifaith chaplain for the E​mergency Medical Assistance Team, a provincial disaster response mobile hospital, as well as Team Leader for The Ottawa Hospital Emergency Spiritual Care Assistance Team.

Also, he is an ordained Maronite Catholic priest. Nicolas is a published author and presenter for various topics such as grief and bereavement, pain and suffering, spiritual care, self-care, leadership and management, and spiritual care intervention in disasters.

Ann MacDonald MA, PhD, RP is a CASC Certified spiritual care practitioner and a CRPO Registered Psychotherapist. She has a master’s degree in counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University and a doctor of ministry (PhD) from the University of Ottawa.

Her doctoral research was motivated by a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, where she discovered the peace of sacred walking. She subsequently published a book on pilgrimage as a pathway to spiritual renewal. She is currently working on “Field Notes from a Dementia Unit,” a journal account that is both descriptive and reflective.

Most of her adult life has been spent in Ottawa, but her roots are in Prince Edward Island, where she grew up and still feels a strong connection. She draws inspiration from the outdoors, the ocean, and cool, windy days.

Sajeewa Ranasinghe, M.A., RP works as a Spiritual Care Practitioner. He has a master’s degree in counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University in Ottawa and Buddhist studies from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Having previously embraced a life as a Buddhist monk, Sajeewa possesses a deep-rooted passion for imparting the teachings of mindfulness and Vipassana meditation. He seamlessly integrates these practices into everyday well-being, recognizing their profound impact on personal growth and inner peace.

Sajeewa’s extensive experience includes facilitating numerous guided meditation groups, delivering presentations, and conducting mindfulness workshops. He brings his wealth of knowledge to empower individuals on their spiritual journeys, helping them cultivate a mindful approach to life and enhance their overall well-being. 

Vivian Stang has been a multi-faith Spiritual Care Practitioner at The Ottawa Hospital since 2001. She has worked with clients on most units of the hospital. Vivian is a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) since 2016. Vivian is also a certified Supervisor-Educator with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC/ACSS). In this role she is helping to train future spiritual care professionals within an accredited CASC/ACSS clinical psychospiritual education program at The Ottawa Hospital. Vivian has a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Care in Health Care from Saint Paul University, Ottawa.

Vivian is a Clinical Investigator with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI).  She has authored articles on interventions and outcomes, charting and documentation and palliative and bereavement care competencies for spiritual care professionals in Canada. She enjoys running, swimming, and painting.

Mary Jane Beavis MA, RP, CCC has been a spiritual care practitioner at the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital since 2015 and works on various inpatient units. She has a master of arts degree in counselling and spirituality and a graduate diploma in couple counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University, Ottawa. She is proud to be bilingual and provides services in English and French.

Mary Jane is a cancer survivor; she strongly believes in the power of a holistic approach in the healing process. She is passionate about trauma-informed care, so Mary Jane has obtained education in this approach and is a Somatic Experience practitioner. She has co-authored an article: Chart Audit of Spiritual Care Documentation: Continuous Quality Improvement in the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling for her profession. 

Kathya Molino, BA (psychology), BEd, MTS. works as a spiritual care practitioner. She has a master’s degree in theological studies and a graduate diploma in supportive care and spirituality in palliation, both from Saint Paul University. Before joining the Spiritual Care team, she volunteered for many years at TOH General Campus in Spiritual Care, while she worked as an Ophthalmic Medical Technologist at the Eye Institute. Her fluency in French and in English allows her to connect with her patients in both official languages.

She is a Lay Associate with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in her home parish and a musician of Ottawa’s monthly ecumenical Taizé prayer group.

Kathya has just finished a memoir for her master’s degree titled: Compassion of God, Compassion of Christ, Compassion of the Church, a Model for Spiritual Support of the Sick. 

Fr. Roman Rytsar, PhD, RP is a Ukrainian Catholic priest. He has a Doctorate in Philosophy and Theology from Saint Paul University in Ottawa. He has been working at the General Campus since December 2011.

He has been a lecturer at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv (Ukraine) and a teaching assistant at Saint Paul University.

Fr. Roman is an author of various articles and his doctoral thesis was translated into Romanian and published in 2016. He has given spiritual retreats to multiple groups of people. Currently, on Sundays, he serves at St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kingston. 

Fr. Kipling Cooper works as the Catholic chaplain at the Civic Campus. He has a Certificate of Theological Studies from Holyrood Seminary in New York.

As a Catholic priest, he looks forward to assisting people in all walks of life to discover how God’s grace is connecting with their various experiences, as well as providing the sacraments to those able to receive them.