Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition

19/10/2026

Just a reminder: this Thursday, October 22, at 1pm ET (10am PT), our Monthly Learning Series turns to the interior life of ministry with *Transformative Practices: Journaling & Centering Prayer*. Thomas Cook of Kolbe House in Chicago and Deacon Ed Irelan of Catholic Charities of Northwest Ohio will share how these practices open space for honesty, healing, and encounter with God, both for those we accompany and for ourselves. The session is cosponsored by Praestolari, and live English and Spanish captions will be available. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time: www.catholicprisonministries.org/monthly-learning-series

15/10/2026

This Saturday!

CPMC is hosting an online Day of Prayer event, featuring Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, renowned author and speaker, along with Fr. Dustin Feddon, author of More Than Halfway Home. The event is free but registration is required.
https://www.catholicprisonministries.org/day-of-prayer

13/10/2026

Last Saturday, 183 incarcerated men and women from 23 prisons across Spain arrived at the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. They didn’t walk alone. 73 corrections officers and 83 volunteers walked the Camino with them, all as pilgrims.

“On the Camino, everyone is equal,” said Fr. José María Carod, O. de M., who directs prison ministry for the Spanish bishops. Masks come off. Trust opens. Those relationships go back inside the walls changed.

The pilgrims wore shirts printed with Pope Leo XIV’s words to the men at Brians prison: “God loves you as you are, but dreams of you as better.”

Fr. Carod also offered a challenge that applies here too: the Christian community needs to rethink how it welcomes those coming home from prison. The Church doesn’t stop at the prison gate.

Read the full story (in Spanish, but translatable into English in your browser) ⬇️
https://revistaecclesia.es/el-camino-penitenciario-derriba-los-muros-de-la-prision-183-reclusos-peregrinan-a-santiago-unidos-en-la-redencion/

12/10/2026

Pope Leo is preparing to undergo surgery to remove a nodule from his lung. We join Catholics around the world, including incarcerated men and women and the ministers who walk alongside them, in lifting up our Holy Father in prayer.

10/10/2026

On this World Day Against the Death Penalty, we stand with our friends at Catholic Mobilizing Network: every ex*****on is an affront to human dignity. We stand for life.

08/10/2026

Tomorrow: a free webinar for anyone who walks alongside migrants and their families.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Catholic Health Association of the United States, National Association of Catholic Chaplains, and Ascension are co-hosting *Faithful Accompaniment: Supporting Those Working in Migration Ministry*. It's for pastoral, healthcare, and social service workers who serve immigrant families, and it looks at how to keep that service going without burning out.

Many of our friends already do this work, in detention facilities and with families separated by incarceration and deportation. Accompaniment is costly, and the people who give it need care as well. Speakers include William Canny of the USCCB Secretariat of Migration.

🗓 Friday, Oct. 9 | 1:00–2:00 PM ET | Free
Register:

Throughout the year, CHA holds educational and informative programs focusing on areas of interest to the Catholic health ministry, including webinars, virtual programs, networking calls and in-person programs.

08/10/2026

CPMC's Episcopal Advisor, Bishop William Wack of Pensacola-Tallahassee, joins The Pillar Catholic Podcast to discuss his experience in prison ministry, the work of CPMC, and whether America's incarcerated should have an Ordinariate of their own.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6AvtgtTHz6Vz4Ox92Zuap6?si=a6ab997e524346a9

08/10/2026

Last month, CPMC's Communications Manager accepted an invitation to speak at a UN Human Rights Council side event in Geneva on the role of faith-based organizations in helping people rebuild their lives after prison.

In his new reflection for The Opened Door, he explains the conviction he brought to that table: the state can release you, but only a community can welcome you.

Release from prison happens on a single day. Welcome takes much longer. It means someone knows your name, has a bed ready, and expects you at dinner. No government program can provide that, but parishes, families, and neighbors can.

Read Joshua's reflection on what he heard in Geneva and why the Church has something to offer men and women during -- and after -- incarceration or detention. 👇

https://www.catholicprisonministries.org/the-opened-door/the-state-can-release-you-but-only-a-community-can-welcome-you

07/10/2026

The death penalty is back in the headlines after Tennessee's failed attempt last week to execute Christa Pike. Moments like this invite us to look beyond the news and remember that every person on death row is a human being, made in the image of God and never beyond the reach of His mercy.

If you've been reflecting on these questions, we invite you to listen to the very first episode of our podcast, You Visited Me. NC State classics professor Alberto De Simoni shares the story of his friendship with a man on Florida's death row, and what accompanying him taught him about dignity, mercy, and the sacredness of every human life.

"I was in prison and you visited me." (Matthew 25:36)

🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7i8GitkUNQE9QEu6LOwhyO?si=v69PuEvMTVW6txNoSOcOlQ

06/10/2026

"I was in prison and you visited me." (Mt 25:36)

The Archdiocese of St. Louis has filed suit on behalf of roughly 150 immigration detainees, most of them Catholic, at a Missouri jail where priests may speak with them only by phone through glass. No confession. No anointing. No Mass. When priests asked to bring Communion, the jail suggested a guard could pass the Host along in a container.

The sacraments are not a courtesy extended to the faithful when convenient. They are Christ's own presence, given to those who need him most, and no one needs him more than the person behind the wall. The Archdiocese is asking only for what attorneys and consular officials already receive.

We stand with every minister seeking to accompany those in custody, whatever brought them there.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/catholic-diocese-sues-us-government-seeking-clergy-access-detainees-2026-10-05/