Catholic Charities will host a picnic Sept. 16 for those currently involved in ministry at local prisons and jails.
The picnic will be held at St. Thomas Church in Bardstown, Ky., and is for those involved in the ministry and their families. It will begin at 12:15 p.m. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz will attend the event as will Deacon Peter Houck and his wife, Mary Lou.
Deacon Houck is known as the first Catholic chaplain to minister in the Kentucky prison system. According to a news release about the event, the jail and prison ministry provides a “consistent Catholic presence to residents of the prisons within Kentucky and the jails within the Archdiocese of Louisville. The ministry also seeks to provide aftercare, housing, mentoring and assistance with jobs for those leaving the prison system. And it counsels crime victims and their families.
Among other listed priorities of the ministry is an effort to provide contact and communication to inmates without visitors, and to educate the people of the archdiocese about the work of the ministry.
