When your child is sick, your world is turned upside down. But you don’t have to travel this journey alone — our pastoral care team is always here for you to provide strength and support when you need it the most.
- cope with the stress of an illness
or hospitalization - discuss difficult decisions
- deal with bad news
- ease the loneliness and isolation of a hospital stay
- offer religious rituals (sacraments, scriptures, and prayers)
- contact a clergy in your own
religious tradition
Please feel free to call us for spiritual and emotional care for you, your child, or your family. We’ll meet you in the chapel, your child’s hospital room, or wherever you feel most comfortable.
About Our Chapel
Located on the first floor, near the gift shop and cafeteria
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Our non-denominational Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Chapel is a sacred place for respite, prayer, quiet meditation, and reflection for people of all faiths. While you’re here, you can read the Bible and other sacred texts from a variety of faith traditions. We can also provide other devotional literature upon request.
Worship Services
Join us for one of our regularly scheduled worship services in the chapel.
Interfaith Prayer Service
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m.
Protestant Communion Service
Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m.
Roman Catholic Mass
Thursdays at 12:15 p.m.
Words of Comfort
Our pastoral care team has collected some prayers, quotes, and inspirational passages to keep with you to provide comfort during this stressful time.
Meet Our Team
Pastoral care services are provided by a dedicated staff of chaplains, volunteers, and interns who are trained in counseling and religious disciplines. We serve all families of all faiths, providing non-denominational support or care guided by your specific religion. We honor your beliefs — and we’ll never impose different values onto you or your family.
Cesar G. Espineda, MPhil, PhD, APD, MA, STM
Director of Pastoral Care
Diplomate-Training Supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education and Training
(302) 651-5063
cesar.espineda@nemours.org
Dr. Espineda is a faculty member of the joint Doctor of Ministry (DMin) and Doctor in Psychology (PsyD) program of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP) and the Graduate Theological Foundation. He’s also the Chair of the CPSP accreditation committee (a volunteer position he’s held since 2008) and a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the Asia-Pacific Palliative Care Network, and the National Center for Crisis Management. In addition, he’s a diplomate board-certified expert in Traumatic Stress. Dr. Espineda has performed research, had articles published, and presented seminars on topics such as clinical pastoral care and education in the 21st century, end-of-life care, and ethics.
Pastoral Care is an important part of the overall care our patients and families receive at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Our team of chaplains, volunteers, and interns meet the emotional and spiritual needs of all who enter our facility by:
- visiting with patients and families
- providing ongoing staff support
- offering regular services in the chapel
What is Clinical Pastoral Education?
Clinical Pastoral Education and Training (CPET) is an interfaith model for learning pastoral care and counseling in a clinical setting. Based on the work of Anton Boisen, a minister and psychotherapist, CPET is dedicated to the study of “living human documents.” CPET provides educational opportunities that focus on teaching the skills of pastoral care, with an emphasis on self-understanding and uncovering the motivations related to pastoral care work. One unit of CPET consists of 400 hours of training and supervision.
CPET at the duPont Hospital for Children is open to clergy, theological, and rabbinical students, and qualified lay people from any faith tradition.
As a trainee, you’ll engage in clinical pastoral work and then reflect on your work with individual and group supervision.
While here, you’ll learn how to:
- offer a variety of pastoral care services
- use yourself as an instrument of pastoral care
- identify child and adolescent development and family systems
- gain self-awareness so these skills can be used to
benefit others
Our program is annually accredited by the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, an international, theologically-based community that provides certification for clinical chaplaincy, supervision, pastoral counseling, and pastoral psychotherapy.
Learn more about the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy »
Contact Us
Cesar G. Espineda, MPhil, PhD, APD, MA, STM
Director of Pastoral Care
(302) 651-5063
cesar.espineda@nemours.org
Pastoral Care Services
Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
