Lois Thomas, long-serving in prison ministry, receives papal honor
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Lois Thomas has been encountering Christ in prison for three decades.
She recognizes him and affirms his presence within each of the incarcerated men and women she visits on God’s behalf.
“It’s important for everyone to know that God loves them, no matter who they are or what they have done,” said Mrs. Thomas, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City.
Father Joseph Corel, diocesan vicar for prison ministry, on behalf of Pope Francis, recently presented Mrs. Thomas with a papal Benemerenti Medal, in recognition of her years of service in prison.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, nominated her for the honor.
“I am grateful that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has bestowed this special honor upon you,” Bishop McKnight told her.
“Benemerenti” is Latin for “good merit.”
The Benemerenti Medal was instituted by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832.
It is conferred on people “who have shown an active fidelity to and love for the Church,” for "distinguished service to Catholic principles, the Church and society.”
Full slate
When asked why ministering to people in prison is important, Mrs. Thomas pointed out that some who are incarcerated have no one to visit them.
“A lot of people in prison are pretty much thrown away,” she said. “It’s important for them to know that they’re loved as much as anyone, no matter what they’ve done.”
For people behind the fences and barbed wire, having regular visits from volunteers in corrections — VICs for short — is like having a second family.
“Sometimes, even a first family when they don’t have anyone else,” she noted.
As a volunteer, Mrs. Thomas spends her Monday evenings in the Algoa Correctional Center (ACC) in Jefferson City, facilitating the praying of the Rosary with the prison’s chapter of the Legion of Mary.
“Sometimes, we get people who aren’t Catholic come and pray the Rosary with us,” she noted. “It’s an outlet for them to come and share faith with us.”
Every other Friday, she meets and prays with the Legion of Mary in the Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC), a maximum-security prison.
Saturday mornings find her back at ACC for a Catholic study group and Mass with Father Donald Antweiler.
“The first hour, we do Bible study or discuss a book that we are reading or have a Holy Hour or something like that,” she said. “The second hour, we have Mass.”
Mrs. Thomas helps lead the singing at the Liturgies.
She has been active in the Residents Encounter Christ (REC) retreat movement since 1996.
Fully staffed by volunteers, REC offers prison residents a three-day, intensive retreat experience based on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and the sending-forth of his disciples at Pentecost.
Mrs. Thomas regularly serves on REC retreat teams and has served for many years as the liaison between the REC community and the ACC prison administration.
In that role, she helps facilitate the annual retreats at the prison, along with monthly fellowship reunions for ACC residents who have been on a previous REC.
Reunion activities include Scripture studies, faith-sharing and the singing of hymns.
Mrs. Thomas enjoys all these things tremendously.
“It gives me a chance to share my faith and hear other people’s experience with their faith,” she said.
“We don’t turn anyone away, so we get a lot of perspectives,” she added.
All the while, those who are not Catholic get to learn about what the Church really teaches, rather than what they may have been told it teaches.
“So, leaving no one out is really good for all of us,” she said.
Mutual respect
Father Matthew Flatley, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, attested to Mrs. Thomas’s standing with men and women in prison.
“Everyone, including the clergy, deacons, prison staff and inmates, know that Lois is fully present to them and is a leader and guide to one and all,” he wrote to Bishop McKnight.
“She is firm but gentle with the inmates and treats them fairly and with respect,” Fr. Flatley noted. “They, in turn, treat her the same way.”
Mrs. Thomas is convinced she can be Christ’s presence for the people she visits in prison.
“I know, because they are for me,” she stated.
Sister Judith Klump CSJ, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, asked Mrs. Thomas in 1994 to help the residents at ACC cultivate their faith.
“She said she needed help, and I said I’d try,” Mrs. Thomas recalled. “The rest is history. I’ve never turned back.”
She emphasized that prison work is necessary to offset some of the hard realities facing some people who have made poor life decisions.
“There’s so much faith and talent in the people I’ve seen in prison,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to convince people that where they live does not define who they are.
“Sometimes,” she said, “all they need to know is that someone does care about what happens to them. I almost feel like a mom for some of them.”
“Many a heart”
The Benemerenti Medal is bestowed upon “those well deserving in Christian matters.”
The medal is worn over the chest, suspended by ribbons of the papal colors. It is a gold Greek cross depicting the image of Christ, his hand raised in blessing.
On the left of the transverse arm of the cross is a depiction of the tiara and crossed keys — symbols of the papacy.
Convinced that the need for volunteers in the prison has never been greater, Mrs. Thomas encourages Catholics to come forward and put their faith into action.
“With so many inmates in prisons all over the state, the need for help is great,” she noted. “All it takes is genuine concern for your fellow human being, a belief that ‘God doesn’t make junk,’ as they say, and an acceptance that all human life is valuable.
“Many a heart has been softened and turned around with the simple knowledge that someone cares,” she said.
