Our Missionaries Are Ministering to the Neglected in Prison

For the last 40 years, Missionhurst priests have been responding to Christ's call to visit and care for the imprisoned in the provinces of Kasai and Kinshaasa.

The Congo is a place of great poverty and political chaos, and the prison system is one of the first places that is forgotten. Proper sanitation is non-existent, clean food and water are hard to find, and prisoners are crowded into tight quarters where illness and disease can thrive. Missionhurst priests work daily with the souls in prison, offering them physical and spiritual comfort and working to restore civility and dignity to their living conditions. They offer them Christian instruction, the sacraments, and help them communicate with their families.

Our missionaries are touching the lives of over 300 prisoners on a weekly basis. In 2012, Missionhurst priest raised funds to install a well so that prisoners could have regular access to clean water. They also successfully worked with a legal team and other organizations to make sure that imprisoned children are sentenced fairly and are separated from the adult prisoners for their safety.

They are motivated by Christ's command to care for the imprisoned and by a desire to see the individuals in prison restored to fullness of life and re-integrated with their communities when they are released.