ABOUT KOLBE PRISON MINISTRIES

Since 2009, Kolbe Prison Ministries (“KPM”) has been working with those incarcerated in Texas (and beyond) to help them heal and grow in their faith. Kolbe Prison Ministries is named after Saint Maximilian Kolbe who was martyred in a German concentration camp during World War II. He is the patron Saint of prisoners.

It is the mission of KPM to share the agape love of Jesus Christ with those in prison and to teach the fullness of the truth of the Catholic Church to the incarcerated. This ministry was started by a group of men based in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Early in the evolution of the ministry (2010), the founders recognized the need to create local leadership groups to meet with the prisons in their geographic areas. The founders could no longer effectively minister to the prisons within their own diocese and organize mission retreats to other dioceses and handle the expansion efforts of the ministry. Under the direction of the founders, Diocesan Cores (local leadership group) were formed, similar to the organizational model of ACTS. A Handbook was created to guide the newly formed Cores on how to organize themselves and how to run retreats.

In 2015, Catholic leaders in the Diocese of Dallas interested in prison ministry formed a new KPM Core team. The DKPM Core schedules and administers key aspects of the retreats and follow-up services to the incarcerated within the boundaries of the Diocese of Dallas.

These Kolbe Prison Ministries retreats have enriched and reinvigorated the spiritual lives of hundreds of inmates in the Diocese of Dallas. Books and other literature are brought into the units to help facilitate learning and understanding of the Catholic faith. Many of the offenders open their heart to the Word of God and begin to make a positive change in their lives. Many times the change in their lives impacts their children and other members of their family.