Church prison ministry reached more than 40,000 inmates in Spain last year
Nearly 1,100 programs reached 40,000 inmates in 2025 with the support of 2,069 volunteers and chaplains, the Spanish Bishops' Conference prison ministry said
The prison ministry office of the Spanish Bishops' Conference presented its 2025 report on September 24, 2026, the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, patroness of prisoners and of Spain's prison service. The report counts more than 40,000 people in prison in Spain who had direct contact with the Church through its chaplains and volunteers. At the end of 2025 the country's total prison population stood at 62,398.
During the year the ministry ran 1,076 programs, 936 of them inside prisons and 140 outside. Together they served 40,289 people, with 3,722 taking an active part in the various activities. José María Carod, a Mercedarian and director of the prison ministry office, said the work is often carried out "quietly", with the aim of "supporting, giving visibility to and improving the reality" of those serving sentences.
Activities inside and outside prisons
Inside the prisons, the ministry ran 573 religious programs organized in 768 pastoral groups and activities, involving 21,270 people. There were also 341 social programs and 22 legal ones, along with other support and assistance work. Outside, the prison ministry ran 90 shelters that took in 3,193 people, and supported 621 people carrying out community service. Another 27 legal programs outside prison served 399 more people.
Volunteers, chaplains and resources
The report records the work of 1,910 lay volunteers and 159 chaplains, backed by 667 partner organizations. Over the year the ministry held 804 meetings and training events aimed at better preparing those who serve in the prison ministry. Carod said channels for initial and ongoing training need to improve, warning that "there are not enough hands" and that the vocation of serving prisoners has to take concrete form.
The prison ministry's work in 2025 was funded with 3,680,938.65 euros: 1,553,465.76 euros went to the chaplaincies and 2,127,472.89 euros to the shelters. The report describes the work as a commitment to "support, give visibility to and improve the reality of the prison sentence."
The report also sets out what the Church's presence in prisons should look like: "another prison is possible through listening, closeness, humanity, understanding, opportunity and forgiveness." The office said it wants to do more to support both victims and offenders, to be present in the pain of the families affected and to seek coordination with an evangelizing purpose.
