Prison volunteers learn new techniques to minister to the incarcerated and their families

Nov 03, 2023

By Ben Savarimuthu and Audrey Freeman
The Archdiocesan Prison Ministry of Kuala Lumpur organised a three-day spiritual retreat for its prison volunteers themed From Prison to Home from October 20 to 22, at the Church of St Francis of Assisi.

The retreat, attended by around 55 dedicated volunteers from the Prison Ministry, was conducted by Fr Dr Francis Kodiyan, MCBS from Bangalore.

Fr Francis co-founded the Prison Ministry of India in 1981 while he was still a seminarian. After completing his seminary studies, he continued to pursue his interest in this ministry and went on to obtain a doctorate from the Gregorian University in Rome. He has been ministering for the past 42 years and has established several reformation and research centres, rehabilitation centres, intercessory task forces, and homes for prisoners and their families throughout India. He has also published 16 books on prisons and prisoners. Despite his accomplishments, he remains a simple and humble man by nature.

During the event, there were several inspiring presentations, including ones on Reformation Exploration, Searching-Serving and Saving the Lost, and Prisoners’ Reformation Trajectory and Prison Ministry of Special Task Forces. The sessions created awareness among the participants about their outreach to incarcerated individuals and their families. These sessions were highly informative and engaging for the retreatants. Additionally, the attendees were divided into five groups for discussion and sharing.

During the retreat, the volunteers formed an Intercessory Task Force consisting of five groups of 10 to 11 members each. The task force was assigned to pray daily especially for prisoners, their families, authorities, and prison volunteers. On the last day of the retreat, the prison volunteers committed to carrying out their assigned tasks faithfully and truthfully.

At the end of the retreat, Fr George Packiasamy delivered a thanksgiving speech where he expressed his gratitude to Archbishop Julian Leow for presiding over the Eucharist celebration. He also extended his appreciation to Fr Francis for sharing his new insights and inspiring the prison volunteers and their ministries. Finally, he thanked the volunteers for attending the retreat and participating wholeheartedly. As it was Mission Sunday, he urged the five Intercessory Task Forces to set their hearts on fire with Christ’s love, their feet on the move and fully committed to their task with enthusiasm and dedication.

Archbishop Julian affirmed the volunteers’ mission to share Christ’s light with prisoners and be peacemakers in the world.