Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño culminates Pastoral Penitenciaria Week

Bishop Santos Montoya presided over a Mass at the Centro Penitenciario de Logroño on September 24 to conclude the Semana de Pastoral Penitenciaria. The event coincided with the feast of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, the patron saint of people deprived of liberty and of Instituciones Penitenciarias.

The week of activities, held from September 17 to September 24 under the theme «Alzad la mirada», focused on the accompaniment of people deprived of liberty, their families, and victims. The conclusion of the week also marked the publication of the Memoria de Pastoral Penitenciaria 2025 by the Conferencia Episcopal Española.

According to the report, the Church provided direct contact to 40,289 people through chaplains, volunteers, parishes, religious congregations, and other ecclesial entities during 2025. These efforts included 1,076 programs conducted both inside and outside the centers. The report noted that there were 62,398 people in prison in Spain at the end of 2025.