Beginning in March 2020, the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) closed all prisons, jails and work camp access to our clergy and lay volunteers who were providing Catholic service ministry to detainees and those incarcerated. We expect that prisons and jails will not open to services until 2022 and that would depend on the COVID vaccine providing a significant reduction in the transmission and reduction of virus infections.

The State of Illinois is divided into six Catholic Dioceses and each contains a number of federal and state prisons, work camps, jails and juvenile facilities. Prison & Reentry Ministry serves all the Illinois criminal justice system that includes 202,000 residents that are behind bars or under criminal justice supervision. That includes state prisons (30,500), local jails (23,000), federal prisons (9,000), parole (28,000) and probation (112,000). We are all called to be part of this ministry out of care for the human dignity of each person created in the image and likeness of God.

The Diocese of Belleville covers the 28 counties in the southern part of Illinois. This includes the following incarceration sites:

• Federal Prison (1)
• Marion
• State Prisons (8)
• Big Muddy, Centralia, Lawrence, Menard, Pinckneyville, Shawnee, Southwestern Illinois, Vienna
• County Jails (22)
• Work Camps (5)
• Juvenile Detention Centers

Other Catholic services at the incarceration sites can include:

• Eucharist
• Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Liturgy of the Word with Holy Communion
• Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
• Scripture Study
• Sacramental Preparation
• Rosary & Stations of the Cross