Dr Bernadette Miles is co-founder and co-director (with Dr Marlene Marburg) of Kardia Formation P/L based in Melbourne, Australia. Kardia was established in 2015 as a response to the increasing number of people who desire spiritual formation outside of current institutional settings. Kardia offers companionship of empowerment for women and men through spiritual direction, Spiritual Exercises, supervision and various formation programs including the Heart Wisdom Program. The Heart Wisdom Program is a contemporary spiritual direction formation program which is grounded in Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises and is recognised by the Australian Ecumenical Council for Spiritual Directors.

Having raised her family and spent twenty years in business management, Bernie began her formation and work in spiritual direction in 2000. She has held various roles with the Australian Jesuits (2002 – 2015), including Director of Campion Centre of Ignatian Spirituality and Coursework Coordinator for Sentir Graduate College of Spiritual Formation (now known as Jesuit College of Spirituality). As the International Coordinator of the Arrupe Program, a program for forming spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition which was taught in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne at the time, she helped to develop and deliver MA(SD) Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction and a GDSD Graduate Diploma in Spiritual Direction.

Bernie completed the Master of Applied Science (Organisational Dynamics) at RMIT in 2007 and has integrated the work of spiritual direction with the work of socioanalysis in her PhD research. Her book, Strengthening Spirit–Releasing Potential: Spiritual Direction for Leadership and Organisational Dynamics was released in February 2021. Bernadette is passionate about developing the ministry of spiritual direction and enabling the work to be relevant in a multitude of settings, particularly in the workplace.

University Appointments

Honorary Research Associate (Yarra Theological Union)

External Affiliations

• Kardia Formation P/L (Director)
• NIODA (National Institute for Organisational Development Australia) (Leadership)
• Spiritual Directors International (Leadership)