For Catholics behind prison walls, incarceration does not mean separation from the Church. Catholic prison ministers and bishops say those in jail and prison remain members of the Catholic community, and they are in particular need of the sacraments, companionship, and God’s mercy.
Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday was observed July 26, highlighting the Church’s call to remember those who are incarcerated.
William Hall, coordinator of Prison Ministry for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and a member of the Buckingham Correctional Center ministry, said the work is rooted in Christ’s command in Matthew 25 to visit those in prison.
“We try to go in and provide sacraments, provide comfort to the men in prison,” Hall told Veronica Dudo in a July 29 interview with “EWTN News Nightly.”
‘Just as much a part of the parish’
Hall said Catholics behind bars should not be defined solely by their crimes or convictions.
“The guys in prison might just say, ‘Donʼt think of me for what I did but of who I am,’” he said.
Many incarcerated Catholics, Hall added, have discovered a deeper spiritual life through the Church’s presence in prison.
For Hall, ministry begins with a simple approach: “Listen, listen, love, love.”
“You listen to the person, understand where they are in their life, and try to do what you can to make their life better,” he said.
That ministry can bear fruit in unexpected ways.
Hall recalled a recent example in which inmates learned that a young boy outside the prison had been seriously injured when his foot was run over by a lawnmower. Although the inmates earned less than $1 an hour for their prison work, they collected more than $1,000 to send to the boy.
“That got news coverage,” Hall said, adding that the response eventually led corporations to get involved and “became a really big thing.”
For Hall, the story demonstrated how the faith of incarcerated men can move beyond the prison walls.
‘We’re all sinners’
Bishop William Wack of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, in a July 29 interview with “EWTN News Nightly” emphasized that prisoners remain part of the bishop’s flock.
Shortly after becoming bishop, Wack received a letter from an inmate reminding him that those behind bars wanted to see their shepherd.
“We’re here, and we’re your flock as well,” Wack recalled the inmate writing. “We have needs. We want Communion. We want to see you in person, and time with our shepherd.”
The letter was a “wake-up call” for Wack and renewed his desire to visit prisons, listen to inmates, and celebrate the sacraments with them.
Wack said his own experience with prison ministry began during seminary, when he chose to work with juveniles in detention centers. He later ministered in jails and prisons, including spending an entire summer in a California prison.
Those experiences helped him develop “a love for just being with our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated.”
The bishop stressed that prison ministry does not excuse criminal behavior.
“We’re never saying what you did, what you’re accused of, or what you’re convicted of is OK,” he said. “That’s not what prison ministry is all about.”
Instead, the ministry recognizes a fundamental spiritual need shared by every person.
“We’re all sinners,” Wack said. “It’s just getting to the heart of what we all need: God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness.”
‘Prayer goes a long way’
Wack acknowledged that most Catholics cannot personally enter prisons to minister to inmates. But he said they can still participate in this corporal work of mercy.
“Prayer. That goes a long way,” he said, encouraging Catholics to pray both for those who are incarcerated and for those who minister to them.
Hall said he has also found that prison ministry transforms the volunteers who enter the facilities.
“One of the things people donʼt really realize is that we volunteers who go in get as much out of this as the men in prison,” Hall said.
The Church enters prisons not merely to provide services but to bring Christʼs mercy to people who may feel forgotten and to remind Catholics outside prison walls that they, too, are called to see Christ in those society can easily overlook.
Hall said the experience reveals the deeper reality of Catholic prison ministry: “It’s a large and profitable Christian community.”
For Catholics behind bars, the Church remains a place of sacramental life, community, forgiveness, and hope.
And for those who visit them, prison ministry can become a powerful reminder of Christʼs words in Matthew 25: “I was in prison, and you visited me.”
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