Faith communities unite: An insight into Prison Ministry

Together with Catholic Charities, which helps fund and support our ministries, we offer many programs through talented, dedicated volunteers throughout our institutions and beyond.”

Father Joseph Corel

No walls are thick enough, no bars strong enough, no barbed wire sharp enough to stand between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the men and women who reside in prisons throughout central and northeastern Missouri.

Ministry to the incarcerated in this diocese rests under the umbrella of services offered by Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri.

When Archbishop Shawn McKnight came to lead this diocese in 2018, he assigned me to be vicar for prison ministry.

Together with Catholic Charities, which helps fund and support our ministries, we offer many programs through talented, dedicated volunteers throughout our institutions and beyond.

The most important ministry we as Catholics offer is the availability of the Sacraments.

Mass is celebrated weekly at the following locations: the Algoa Correctional Center in Jefferson City, the Jefferson City Correctional Center, the Moberly Correctional Center and the Tipton Correction Center.

Mass is offered on at least monthly at the Fulton Diagnostic and Reception Center and the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia.

It is celebrated on an as-available basis in the Boonville Correctional Center and the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green.

Whenever Mass is offered, the priest spends time before Mass hearing Confessions and offering one-on-one visits.

When Mass is not offered, all corrections institutions have volunteers to lead prayer services for the residents.

Most of these institutions have volunteers who accompany the priest so that other programs can be offered before or after Mass.

In most settings, this includes the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). Catholic Charities covers the cost of the OCIA materials. 

Every institution allows for a secondary religious service time.

The institutions that have volunteers to cover the secondary service include: Algoa, Boonville and Moberly.

The secondary religious service includes many of the same kinds of studies that are happening across our diocese in our parishes.

The volunteers use “Formed,” Word on Fire, “This Man is You” and other reputable Catholic sources to enhance the Catholic formation of the men and women in prison.

Legion of Mary circles gather for prayer in the Algoa and Jefferson City correctional centers.

Many prison volunteers across our diocese also help with human-formation programs.

In Boonville and Moberly, volunteers come in so that men can record themselves reading a children’s book onto a CD.

The CD and book are then mailed to their child so he or she can hear their dad read to them as they read along in the book.

The Jefferson City Correctional Center has an Intensive Therapeutic Community (ITC) that involves prison residents mentoring one another in a full-immersion environment.

ITC is often in need of art supplies, which Catholic Charities provides.

Other volunteers lead weekly Celebrate Recovery meetings, while others help men overcome their anger issues by facilitating Positive Mental Attitude classes.

 Prison Ministry does not focus only on those who are incarcerated, though that is our primary focus.

We also recognize the need to minister to those who work in corrections institutions.

We established the Adrian Group for corrections employees.

It provides space for them to gather for meals, support and helpful conversation.

The group meets first Thursday of each month in the St. Francis Xavier Knights of Columbus Hall in Taos, from 4-6:30 p.m. Catholic Charities covers the cost of the meals.

The greatest need, according to anyone who works in prison ministry, is for aftercare or re-entry, for men and women who have completed their sentence or are released on parole.

While we have independent agencies doing this important ministry, our long-term goal is to expand our outreach and abilities in this important area.

It will require a full-time paid staff person, with several volunteers, just in that particular area.

All of this is just an overview of services offered.

Due to limited space, I cannot tell you more here.

But know that there are a lot of people doing amazing ministries inside and outside the walls of our prisons that are under the umbrella of prison ministry.

If you feel called to learn more and be part of prison ministry, call me at 660-827-2311 or e-mail me at jcorel@diojeffcity.org.