Living by faith

From the moment she was born, Kathy Mattone’s life story has been interwoven with that of Saint Joseph Hospital.

“I am a wife and mother by vocation, a nurse and an educator by profession and a chaplain by the grace of God,” Mattone said.

Mattone has found her life journey interwoven with Saint Joseph Hospital. She was actually born at Saint Joseph, and while her career includes nursing, teaching and running a bed and breakfast, she kept hearing the call to serve at Saint Joseph Hospital.

While studying theology at Saint Meinrad Seminar and School of Theology in Indiana, she was a clinical instructor for first semester nursing students at Saint Joseph Hospital. During a moment of prayer in the chapel, there was a sense of call to chaplaincy. Mattone learned during her clinical pastoral education internship and residency at Saint Joseph Hospital that chaplains extend holistic patient and staff spiritual care with emphasis on finding meaning and purpose in life.

Once her seminary and chaplain training were complete, there were no positions open. So she worked as a hospice nurse at the University of Kentucky and as a night chaplain at Baptist Health Lexington. As a Catholic, she was awaiting the call to return home. That call came four years ago, when a chaplain position opened up at Saint Joseph East in Lexington.

“I had this longing to be back in Catholic health care, to be able to live and share the richness of my faith tradition,” Mattone said. “I felt called to be a part of the healing ministry of Jesus Christ brought to Lexington by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth over 140 years ago.”

Mattone is now the director of spiritual care for CHI Saint Joseph Health.

At CHI Saint Joseph Health, we’re called to serve. Learn more about rewarding career opportunities at one of our facilities.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 edition of Spirit of Health magazine. Subscribe to Spirit of Health magazine to read more stories like this one.