CV NEWS FEED // After Kolbe Prison Ministries held a retreat weekend at a Kansas prison, 19 prisoners signed up to continue education in the Catholic faith with the eventual goal of joining the church.
Cindy Kellick, the program coordinator of the Catholic Diocese of Wichita’s prison ministry, reported that the Feb. 28 – March 2 retreat, held at Winfield Correctional Facilities, was the first of its kind in the diocese. The volunteers came from Kansas City, Texas, and Oklahoma, and 48 prisoners participated.
The first day of the retreat included roundtable discussions between participants and volunteers, so that the retreat leaders could share information about the faith in a personalized setting.
“The retreatants participated in table discussion and received close attention, thanks to a format in which participants sat at tables of six retreatants and three volunteers,” Kellick wrote. “The vast amounts of information shared on day one sought to open the minds of those with minimal exposure to our faith.”
Kellick also noted that the prisoners were very grateful to eat nourishing food during the retreat.
“When the first snack, which included items to which retreatants do not have regular access — green and red grapes, tangerines, and mixed nuts — the looks on their faces showed such deep appreciation,” she added. “It was a blessing to see them indulge in such favorites throughout their weekend retreat.”
On the second day, the retreat focused on the themes of forgiveness and being a child of God. Participants also had an opportunity to attend Eucharistic Adoration.
“Retreatants began a transformation as they recognized their status as children of a God who loves them no matter what they have done,” Kellick wrote. “This is easy for prisoners to forget, since incarceration tends to prompt feelings of marginalization and insignificance.”
After Adoration, Father Clay Kimbro, Father Jim Billinger, Deacon Dan Schletzbaum, and seminarian Koby Nguyen held a question-and-answer session about the Catholic faith.
At the culmination of the three-day retreat, 19 prisoners signed up to attend Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) and Bible classes.
“That weekend allowed the men who already professed the Catholic faith, as well as residents with widely varying beliefs, to taste and see the goodness of Our Lord,” the article stated.
After the retreat, so many prisoners began attending Mass that the warden allowed the priests to change locations from a small room to the prison’s chapel.
Kellick concluded by pointing to Our Lord’s words in Matthew 25:36 and 40: “I was in prison and you came to visit me. … I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me.”
