Conferencia Episcopal Española publishes 2025 prison pastoral care report

The Spanish Episcopal Conference published its 2025 prison pastoral care report, showing that the Church provided direct contact to more than 40,000 people during the year. The report, released by the Department of Prison Ministry on the feast of the Virgin of Mercy, covers support for incarcerated individuals, their families, and victims.

The department carried out 1,076 programs in 2025, including 936 inside prisons and 140 outside of them. These initiatives involved 159 chaplains and 1,910 volunteers. According to the report, 40,289 people were served through these activities, while 3,722 people participated in or were involved in the various initiatives.

At the end of 2025, there were 62,398 prisoners in Spain. José María Carod, a Mercedarian and director of the department, stated that the ministry often works quietly to accompany and improve the reality for those serving prison sentences.