Beeville: a town of prisons

Beeville can be called a town of prisons. There are four prisons in this small town: Trusty Camp, Garza West, Garza East and McConnell. The latter is a maximum-security prison.

As a part of my pastoral responsibilities as parochial vicar at St. Joseph parish in Beeville, I am doing pastoral ministry in these prisons. This is a God-given opportunity for me. It enriches me with new experiences.

Lay volunteers and deacons from the surrounding parishes also do ministry in these prisons. They consider it as a vocation, and their commitment is awesome. We have Sunday Mass, CCD and RCIA classes, baptism, confirmation, Bible study session, confession, etc.

There is a full-fledged choir formed by the inmates themselves. It makes Sunday liturgy very lively. When they participate in liturgy they pray together and sing together. I have worked in different parishes in US since 2001 and I have never seen a church congregation singing together as these people do.

The inmates say it is the pastoral activities that give them hope, and the courage to cope with the trying circumstances inside the prison. The officers also agree that this ministry mitigates their aggressiveness to some extent.

After interacting with inmates I sometimes feel that some of them, very unfortunately, ended up there because they happened to be in a wrong place at a wrongs time. Technicality of the law and system shut them up there.

Prison ministry is based on the belief that no life is beyond the reach of God’s power. It has lots of challenges, but through partnership with the local churches and other nonprofit organizations, the spiritual, physical and personal needs of prisoners and their families can be met.

The ultimate goal of this ministry is to restore them to Christ, and to give them and their families hope. Pope Francis said, “No cell is so isolated that it can keep the Lord out.” He added, “In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy.”

There is a great need for volunteers in this ministry.