Mission: 
​Prison Ministry in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph seeks to ensure a pastoral and sacramental presence at Missouri correctional facilities and to provide continued support to offenders re-entering society.The Human Rights Office invites you to respond to the Gospel call to “Love one another as I have loved you.” There are nearly 30 jails and prisons within our diocese. The juveniles, women and men incarcerated in these facilities have need of this ministry of presence.

The Human Rights Office oversees this volunteer-based prison ministry that responds to the spiritual needs of those who are incarcerated and their families. It assures that spiritual support is provided by trained volunteers on a regular basis in the prison system in Northeast Missouri. This includes developing and implementing strategies for training and supervising volunteers and promoting the U.S. Catholic bishops’ documents and strategies regarding prisons, detention centers and the death penalty.

Volunteers throughout the diocese minister to prisoners and provide them with free Catholic Bibles and prayer books in English and in Spanish. Over 60 of the volunteers are Certified Volunteers in Corrections (VIC). VICs offer one-on-one in-prison spiritual counseling, sacramental services, Bible study, devotions as well as evening prayers. We serve seven state prisons and many county jails throughout the diocese.
 
The links below will orient you to prison ministry in our diocese and provide formation as you seek guidance in answering your call to serve.

Click here for a printable brochure.
Click here to learn more about our Prison Pen Pal Program
Click here to learn more about the Missouri Department of Corrections
Purpose/Goals
  • Provide recruitment, training and support for all prison and jail ministers and volunteers.
  • Stand in solidarity with others involved in activities involving capital punishment. This may include executions and those events that are a part of the execution process.
  • Work with clergy and volunteers to help resolve issues relative to prison and jail ministry.
  • Provide an advocacy forum for clergy and volunteers ministering in prisons and/or jails.
  • Network with organizations on the local and national level, including but not limited to REC and Kairos, Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Knights of Columbus, Journey to New Life, Catholic Charities of Kansas City, One Heart Project, Archdiocese of Kansas City Kansas, and the Family United Transportation Service.
  • Maintain database to aid in establishing a Catholic presence in jails and prisons. This database includes pertinent information that will be utilized to help clergy and volunteers in the prison and/or ministry.
  • Travel to parishes, deaneries, schools and other Catholic gatherings to provide training on church teachings relative to the prison ministry.
 
Contact the Program Coordinator
Laurie Jo Holmes
Office: 816-714-2364
Mobile: 816-820-0656
Email: holmes@diocesekcsj.org

Share Your Gifts

The Human Rights Office supports the efforts of our faithful in building a culture of life by organizing and planning both diocesan and parish-level activities, by sponsoring annual events and by serving as a resource for education, pastoral care, prayer and worship and public policy advocacy on issues related to the dignity of the person.

For leadership and volunteer opportunities, please review the information included on the  Pastoral Care, Education and Parish Ministry webpages and then contact the Human Rights Office to sign up.

Volunteer Opportunities
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apply here
VIP (Volunteer in Prayer) - VIPs lift up this ministry with powerful prayer support wherever they are. A volunteer from the Human Rights Office sends out  a weekly email with the prayer requests sent to our office from the volunteers who represent the incarcerated members of our diocese.  The VIPs may be either individuals lifting prayer requests to the Lord on their own or are organized into groups by parish. All commit to praying intentionally for this ministry once per week. Each participating parish has a VIP Parish Coordinator who receives an email each week with prayer intentions from our prison ministry community, and then distributes it to his or her group. Most groups also gather on a monthly basis or so to gather in community for this ministry. Click here to sign up to be a VIP.  


VIP Parish Coordinator -  The VIP Parish Coordinator receives an email each week with prayer intentions from our prison ministry community and then distributes it to his or her parish prayer group. The VIP Parish Coordinator also arranges monthly/quarterly get-togethers for their group to gather in community for this ministry.
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learn more here
VIC (Volunteer in Corrections) - VICs in our Diocese visit the jails and prisons on a regular basis to provide the sacraments and a listening ear to our incarcerated brothers and sisters.  Ministering to the incarcerated and their families can sometimes feel like visiting a foreign culture. Whether you are new to prison ministry, or you’re a veteran looking for new perspectives, explore our resources to help you understand the complexities of incarceration – and how it intersects with justice, family relationships, employment, justice, and more.  Click here to learn more about the steps to becoming a VIC. 
  • Each year, nearly 1,600 Volunteers in Corrections (VIC) assisted the department by providing nearly 59,000 hours of volunteer service in the Division of Adult Institutions. VICs also volunteered thousands of hours of service for programs in the Division of Probation & Parole.
  • Volunteers serve as a vital link to the community in conjunction with the Missouri Reentry Process and Restorative Justice, which assists men and women returning to the community following incarceration. Their efforts contribute to public safety and have a positive impact on the lives of offenders. Please click here to learn the qualities of a good Volunteer in Corrections.
  • VIC's also help institutional chaplains in religious programming, pastoral counseling, and provide spiritual guidance. ​​
  • Family Court volunteers provide incredible value for youths by building up social-skills, life-skills, and setting a foundation of positive interaction. If you are interested in being a volunteer and mentor with youth in the Juvenile system, click here to visit the Family Justice Center website.
REC Prison Ministry 
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​Residents Encounter Christ is a non-profit organization which conducts 3-day retreats for men and women offenders. The retreats are designed to give the residents a chance to learn about Christ and how He can change their lives. It is a wonderful opportunity to bring Christ into prison.

Rosary Processor 

​Volunteers who assist the Human Rights Office with the processing, packing & mailing of rosary orders from offenders in Missouri. Please click here for a printable copy of "The Prisoner's Rosary".
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learn more here
Prisoner Pen Pal

​Provide much-needed encouragement and friendship to an isolated prisoner. You can establish your own parish pen-pal ministry using the guide provided by the Diocese. This simple guide lays out the basic steps for finding a prisoner pen pal, provides practical suggestions on how to get started, and provides other tips for fostering a safe, appropriate relationship based on encouragement and discipleship. Click here for a Pen Pal Volunteer Application.
​​Mentor 

Volunteers who work with the Catholic Charities Workforce Development Program to help folks in job seeking which includes everything from resume-building to interviewing techniques and advice on how to ask for and get the raise or promotion when the time is right.  Their services for job seekers focus on delivering one-on-one support to help you in find and keep the right job for long-term success.
Volunteer

Volunteers who work with the Journey to New Life Program to help folks get back on their feet after time spent in prison. Journey to New Life works to remove roadblocks and restore opportunity to those re-entering life after prison. Given the opportunity, we believe they can become successful, contributing and valued members of our community. All it takes is a solid chance to begin again.

Our Patron Saint:
​St. Maximilian Kolbe

PictureSt. Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian was born in 1894 in Poland and became a Franciscan in 1910. He contracted tuberculosis and, though he recovered, he remained frail all his life. Before his ordination as a priest, Maximilian founded the Immaculata Movement devoted to Our Lady. After receiving a doctorate in theology, he spread the Movement through a magazine entitled "The Knight of the Immaculata" and helped form a community of 800 men, the largest in the world.

Maximilian went to Japan and built a comparable monastery and then on to India where he furthered the Movement. In 1936 he returned home because of ill health. After the Nazi invasion in 1939, he was imprisoned and released for a time. In 1941 he was arrested again and sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz.

On July 31, 1941, in reprisal for one prisoner's escape, ten men were chosen to die. Father Kolbe offered himself in place of a young husband and father. He was the last to die, enduring two weeks of starvation, thirst, and neglect.  St. Kolbe was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982; his feast day is August 14.
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Source: Catholic Online

History of the
MAX ​Prison & Jail Ministry

Our Diocesan Jail and Prison Ministry currently serves 6 state prison facilities in northwest Missouri, as well as the county and city jails in the counties throughout our diocesan boundries. Our ministry is guided by the Holy Spirit and through the three pillars of our ministry: our Volunteers in Corrections, Volunteers in Prayer, and the Prison Pen Pal Ministry. 

The Diocesan Leadership Core Team meets on a quarterly basis to inform and guide ministry decisions.  Our members are:
  • Clergy Liaison & Promotion Coordinator, Deacon Doug Myler
  • Fundraising Coordinator, Karen Nold
  • Secretary, Elaine Ingle
  • County Jail and Bilingual Representative, Raiza Guevara
  • Diocesan Representative & Events Coordinator, Laurie Jo Holmes

The MAX Diocesan Prison and Jail Ministry volunteers who volunteer inside the prisons and jails are the Volunteers in Corrections, or VICs. Currently, over 80 volunteers in our Diocese visit the jails and prisons on a regular basis to provide the sacraments and a listening ear to our incarcerated brothers and sisters.

The second pillar of our ministry is our incredible Volunteers in Prayer, or VIPs, who lift up this ministry with powerful prayer support wherever they are. The VIPs are organized into groups by parish, and commit to praying intentionally for this ministry once per week. Each participating parish has a VIP Parish Coordinator who receives an email each week with prayer intentions from our prison ministry community, and then distributes it to his or her group. Most groups also gather on a monthly basis or so to gather in community for this ministry. For more information or to sign up to be a Parish VIP Coordinator, see "Volunteer Opportunities" below.

The final pillar of the MAX Ministry are our Prison Pen Pals. To learn more about this ministry, click here.
Highlights

Thanks to the generosity of our our diocesan faithful, each year hundreds of Catholic bibles are sent into Detention and  Correctional Centers.

Volunteers in Prayer Program running strong; we have over 100 VIPs representing several parishes throughout our diocese who, on a weekly basis, intentionally pray for the intentions of the incarcerated members of our diocese.


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Prison Ministry Team Meeting

Number of Volunteers in Corrections (including 13 priests and 5 deacons): 70+

​New Prison Pen Pal Program enriched by many.

Several Residents Encounter Christ Retreats held in facilities in our Diocese every year.
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MAX Diocesan Hispanic Prison/Jail Ministry Orientation

Community Partner Organizations

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CATHOLIC CHARITIES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
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FAMILY UNITED TRANSPORTATION SERVICE
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RESIDENTS ENCOUNTER CHRIST
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JOURNEY TO NEW LIFE
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MORNING GLORY MINISTRIES
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ONE HEART PROJECT
Human Rights Office ~ Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph  ~ 20 West Ninth Street ~ Kansas City, MO 64105 
​​(816) 714-2364 ~ holmes@diocesekcsj.org