I was in prison and you visited me.”

Matthew 25:3

Parishes throughout the Diocese of Orlando are bringing the Catholic faith alive to those who are incarcerated in jails and prisons throughout Central Florida as well as supporting families and assisting with re-entry programs.

Deacon Jimmy Avellan, oversees the Ministry to the Incarcerated comprised of nearly 200 volunteers who serve in more than 35 prisons and jails around the diocese.

This ministry operates through parish teams who support the needs of the inmates at individual institutions to conduct Communion/Prayer services, Bible studies, RCIA instruction and deliver Bibles, rosaries and prayer cards to foster individual study. These parish teams are vital because the ministry and programs at each institution are dependent on the relationship between the ministry team and the warden/chaplain at the institution.

Not all of the ministering is done inside the jails or prisons. The other ways to become involved are by supporting and comforting the incarcerated person’s families and assisting with re-entry programs, which help former inmates integrate back into society when they are released.

“America’s Prisons: Working to change mass incarceration and the racism behind it”