Diocese of Tulsa
The Prison Ministry of the Diocese of Tulsa continues to bear fruit. On September 6, 2018, Bishop David Konderla officiated at a Mass of Confirmation and heard confessions at the Davis Correctional Center in Holdenville, Oklahoma. Father Hung Le, pastor of St. Stephen Parish and chaplain at the prison, assisted as 13 men were baptized and confirmed. As chaplain, Father Le organizes RCIA classes and celebrates Mass for the inmates each week and has brought several dozen men into the Church through his evangelistic efforts.
Within the boundaries of the Diocese of Tulsa, there are 12 minimum-to-maximum security prisons, and the Tulsa County Jail. Thanks to the great work of the Prison Ministry team, there is a Catholic Presence within every facility, including regular Mass. Confirmation preparation classes are held in three of the medium security prisons and Kairos weekends are held six times/year in three facilities. Bibles, rosaries, pamphlets, holy cards and other Catholic materials are also available to inmates throughout the prison system. The work that is being done with the incarcerated in Eastern Oklahoma is definitely bearing fruit as 20 – 25 inmates enter the Church annually throughout the prison system and recidivism rates are decreasing, particularly among the prison populations that have Kairos weekends.
All of this good work would not be possible without the support and partnership of Black and Indian Missions.
