In early May, the diocese bid farewell to Sister Maria del Rosario Coronado, E.E.P., after 20 years of serving wholeheartedly in the diocesan detention ministry in the High Desert. Sr. Rosario was the church’s presence at the Victorville federal prison, Ironwood State Prison, four detention centers and various juvenile halls and other county jails. During her time, she carried out ministry to prisoners, their families and their spouses by providing bibles, missals, rosaries and cards. In June, the Catholic Extension Society named Sr. Rosario as a nominee for the 2025-26 Lumen Christi Award, presented to people who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve. We thank Sr. Rosario for her dedicated years of service as she returns to minister within her Hermanas Evangelizadoras Eucaristicas de los Pobres (EEP) congregation in Mexico.
During her 20 years serving in the detention ministry, Sr. Rosario also coordinated the calendars of 35 volunteers to ensure they are available for visiting days. She was also in charge of helping priests and volunteers across the diocese to form prison ministry teams which help organize the liturgies, prepare inmates to receive the sacraments, and support prisoners’ families through virtual meetings and phone calls. Sr. Rosario also helped coordinate the “Get on the Bus” program that takes children to visit their parents in prison on special dates. Sr. Rosario would often go with the children to help them through these emotionally fraught reunions. Sr. Rosario truly saw Jesus every day in the faces of the imprisoned.