Restorative Justice"For I was...in prison and you visited me."
Matthew 25:35-36
Detention Ministry
The Catholic Detention Ministry reveals God's message of unconditional love and mercy to people who are incarcerated in the East Bay and their families.
Detention ministers serve inmates by offering and facilitating Catholic religious services, including weekly Liturgy and Communion services, access to sacraments (Holy Mass, Reconciliation), reflections based on scripture, one-on-one or group spiritual counseling to only mention a few.
The Catholic Detention Ministry is placed under the auspices of the Office of Life and Justice in the Diocese of Oakland. Typically, each facility we serve is supported by the parishes of the deanery in which it resides, with one particular parish providing pastoral supervision.
Facilities served
Our ministry serves roughly 5900 inmates across the two counties.
"We are still a long way from the time when our conscience can be certain of having done everything possible to prevent crime and to control it effectively so that it no longer does harm and, at the same time, to offer to those who commit crimes a way of redeeming themselves and making a positive return to society. If all those in some way involved in the problem tried to . . . develop this line of thought, perhaps humanity as a whole could take a great step forward in creating a more serene and peaceful society."
—Pope John Paul II, July 9, 2000
Join our ministry
Detention Ministers are God’s message of love and mercy to inmates.
By their mere presence, they affirm, as best as they can the prisoner as a human being loved by God. Ministers invite inmates to grow to a more positive self-awareness and acceptance of their potential. Through active listening, they strive to make the prisoners aware of their experience of God in their daily life and allow them to express it in their own way.
The main form of service is to be present to people, especially in times of crisis. We bear the values of dignity, hospitality and acceptance in an environment which is generally one of distrust, harshness and rigidity.
As a Catholics, we represent the Catholic Church, its teachings and values. It is essential that we live up to these standards by our words and actions whenever we minister to inmates. However, our services are not restricted to Catholics and we strive to be inclusive of all faith traditions. One way of achieving this is by introducing ourselves as Catholic-Christians, adding that everyone is welcome to our services.
Please use the form below to send us your general inquiries including if you are interested in volunteering.
The enrollment schedule and the training process for volunteers vary from one detention facility to another. Comprehensive training will be provided by the jail and the Catholic Detention Ministry. You must be 18 or older to volunteer. If interested, fill out the form below and a volunteer will be in contact with you.
