The St Maximilian Kolbe Prison Ministry serves people affected who are incarcerated and those who are being released from incarceration. Our ministry offers opportunities for accountability, healing, and reconciliation.
Program Overview
We work to meet the spiritual needs of men, women, and youth in prisons, jails and detention centers in the Diocese of Tucson. Priests, deacons, religious and lay people offer Mass and Communion services within the facilities. We also provide pastoral counseling, evangelization, Bible study, religious education, and sacramental preparation.
Our ministry works with those released from incarceration. They accompany parolees as they rebuild their lives – coordinating Social Security, employment, transportation, and more. These efforts support a successful transition into the community and reduce recidivism.
Who was St. Maximilian Kolbe?
Saint Maximilian Kolbe (January 8, 1894 – August 14, 1941) was a Polish Catholic Priest and Conventual Franciscan Friar who volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in Auschwitz during World War II. He was canonized by Saint Pope John Paul II on October 10, 1982, and declared a martyr of charity and “the patron of our difficult century.” He founded the Niepokalanow monastery near Warsaw, operated an amateur radio station, published religious periodicals and devotionals, and did missionary work in China before founding monasteries in Japan and India. In 1936 he returned to Poland lead the monastery he founded, expanding it into a hospital and sheltering Jews during World War II, and was publishing anti-Nazi materials when he was arrested. He is venerated as the patron saint of amateur radio operators, drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, and prisoners.
Answering the Call
Catholic Community Services’ ministry to those in prison started soon after our founding in 1933 with support for those arrested for vagrancy and other offenses during the Great Depression. With support from pastors and longtime coordinators, Kolbe Society volunteers conduct 14 or more services each week for more than 500 participants. Additionally, Ministry volunteers coordinate between 40 and 50 small group meetings every week, and provide rosaries, Bibles, and prayer books to those in prison.
To join this special ministry, please fill out and submit the Volunteer Contact Form as the first step to getting involved with this important and impactful service.