The Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry prepares you for professional roles of Christian service within a faith community or in other settings where people are in need. Pastoral ministers are privileged to walk with people at significant moments of their lives – sacramental preparation, the passages of youth and young adulthood, illness, bereavement, trauma, loss, birth, and death. They serve in parishes, hospitals, hospice centers, nursing facilities, prisons, and on campuses. A great need going forward, especially as our society ages, is for certified lay chaplains to bring the presence of Christ to the aged, the imprisoned, the dying – all those facing the great mysteries of life’s journey. If you feel the call to offer your gifts and talents in order to make a difference where there is great need, consider Pastoral Ministry at Madonna.
Pictured here with therapy dog “Winston,” Marianne, MAPM '14, was hired by Beaumont Health, Dearborn, as a Staff Chaplain immediately after graduation. She was instrumental in developing a bereavement program for the hospital, which included a holiday grief workshop, a memorial tree, and a six-week bereavement support group running several times per year. As the designated Palliative Care Chaplain at her hospital, she visited patients every day who were at the end of their lives, providing them an outlet and support for the difficulties they faced. After serving there for several years, she became Manager of Spiritual Care for the Detroit East Region of the Ascension Heathcare System, in which role, she was responsible for the management of four hospital spiritual care departments. She is currently the Regional Coordinator of the Perinatal/Infant Bereavement Program for Corewell Health East Region, a program that covers eight acute-care hospitals.
“My Madonna education is the reason I have achieved my career goals. Since graduating from Madonna, I have been a healthcare chaplain, which is what my intention was when I joined the MAPM program. While there, I also obtained the Graduate Certificate in Bereavement. I am Board Certified, as well as Advanced Certified in Palliative and Hospice Chaplaincy – an elite designation, and I am one of only 25 such chaplains in the country" -- and the only one in the state of Michigan.
"I am proud of the education I received at Madonna!”
For more of Marianne's firsthand account of being a chaplain, view this segment of Celebrate Michigan!
Completion of the three courses within this specialty certificate serves as a tool kit for those who work with grieving individuals and families experiencing traumatic loss or significant life changing events who are seeking support and validation in the process of healing.
The hospice and palliative studies certificate is recommended for students who wish to supplement an existing graduate degree and/or those desiring to enhance their knowledge base for advanced work within the field of hospice and palliative care.
Ph.D., Marquette University
M.A., University of Detroit
M.A., University of Pittsburgh
B.F.A., University of Detroit
734-432-5657
Dr. Linahan joined the Madonna family in 2013 and serves as the Director of the Religious Studies and Philosophy Programs and of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry Program. Prior to coming to Madonna, she was a visiting associate professor at Saint Bonaventure University in Western New York for five years. For seven years prior to that, she was a member of the faculty of St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, where she served as the Interim Academic Dean for one year. She completed her Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Marquette University, with a concentration in Systematic Theology and secondary emphases in Biblical and Historical Theology.
Her theological interests are in the areas of Christology, Trinitarian theology, theology of the Holy Spirit, Christian Anthropology, Creation, early Franciscan theology (particularly Bonaventure), and questions regarding the relation of God to the created order. Her doctoral dissertation dealt with several of these areas through the lens of a theology of kenosis (the divine self-emptying), which she has continued to explore in subsequent articles.
Ph.D., University of St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto)
S.T.L., Regis College (Toronto)
M.A., University of Dayton
B.A., University of Dayton
734-432-5562
Dr. Raab joined the faculty at Madonna University in 2024. His work serves students through the Religious Studies and Philosophy Programs at MU, as well as MU graduate students in the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry Program.
Prior to coming to Madonna, he taught at Siena Heights University for eighteen years. He completed his doctoral degree in systematic theology at The University of St. Michael’s College.
His research interests include the area of interreligious dialogue, spirituality, and the intersections of faith, art, and culture.
