About Us – Kolbe Prison Ministries

Since 2009, Kolbe Prison Ministries has been working with those incarcerated in Texas and other states to help them heal and grow in their faith. A document by Larry Reeh detailing the history of Kolbe Prison Ministries can be viewed HERE.

After months of prayer and through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Therese (the little flower), a group of men from the Texas Hill Country began ministering the Word of God in prisons throughout the great state of Texas. Led by God’s call through the corporal works of mercy to visit those imprisoned. These men began the ministry with the creation of Kolbe Prison Ministries, named after St. Maximilian Kolbe. There was an offender serving time in the Connally Unit in Kenedy, Texas who had been on an ACTS retreat prior to his incarceration. He could see the need for doing an ACTS retreat in the prison, and the impact that it would have on the men. The first retreat known as “Prison ACTS” was held at the Connally Unit prison in August 2009. The group brought several more ACTS retreats to Connally and were asked about bringing them to other prisons. These men from the Texas Hill Country answered the call. They brought ACTS retreats to several prisons from the Hill Country all the way to Beaumont, TX. Later the group renamed the ministry “Kolbe Prison Ministries” to better reflect the work being undertaken. And KPM has since expanded its ministry to several states beyond Texas.

These Kolbe Prison Ministries retreats have enriched and reinvigorated the spiritual lives of thousands of inmates throughout the state of Texas and beyond. Today, men and women from all over continue to visit those in prison on a weekly basis. Books and other literature are brought into the units to help facilitate learning and understanding of the Catholic faith. Many of the offenders open their heart to the Word of God and begin to make a positive change in their lives. Many times the change in their lives impacts their children and other members of their family.

Early in the evolution of the ministry (2010), the founders recognized the need to create local leadership groups to meet with the prisons in their geographic areas. Under the direction of the founders, Diocesan Cores were formed, similar to the organizational model of ACTS. A Handbook was created to guide the newly formed Cores on how to organize themselves and how to run retreats. By 2017 the ministry had grown throughout the state of Texas. The founders could no longer effectively minister to the prisons within their own diocese and organize mission retreats to other dioceses and handle the expansion efforts of the ministry. They created a San Antonio Core Team to focus on the prisons within that diocese followed by the creation of Core Teams in many other dioceses.

As this was transpiring, the founding group recognized the need to legally organize as a standalone Corporation. In separating from ACTS in 2014, the founders met with the leadership of the Archdiocese of San Antonio and under their recommendations, the founding group began the process of incorporating the ministry. In 2015, Kolbe Prison Ministries was formed as a non-profit Corporation in the State of Texas and continued at the Federal level to become a 501(c)(3) public charity thereby allowing donations to the ministry to be tax deductible to the donor. All of this required a formal organization and the founders formed a Board of Directors, and created Bylaws and Statutes to operate the organization. A few of the founders still serve on the Board of Directors and membership has expanded to include leaders from several dioceses inside and outside of Texas.

KPM is experiencing demand and tremendous growth and has expanded into Louisiana (2018), Florida (2023), Oklahoma (2024) and Kansas (2024). Catholic leaders from several other U.S. states have inquired about having KPM expand to their dioceses as well.