The Prison Pastoral Formation Ecosystem (PPFE) provides a progressive formation pathway for all new, regular, endorsed, and occasional volunteers serving in jail, prison, and detention ministry.

The purpose of PPFE is to prepare volunteers to serve from a common Catholic pastoral foundation rooted in human dignity, mercy, prudence, humility, accountability, and communion with the Church.

To become eligible for an initial ministerial endorsement letter, volunteers must complete:

✓ PPFE 000 — Orientation and Refresher
✓ PPFE 101 — Foundations of Prison Pastoral Care
✓ Required In-Person Encounter Retreat
✓ PPFE Volunteer Information Form
✓ Pastoral Reference Letter
✓ Applicable archdiocesan and institutional requirements

After these requirements have been verified, the Office of Detention Ministry may issue an Initial Ministerial Endorsement Letter.

The endorsement permits the volunteer to serve under the direction of the Office of Detention Ministry, the pastoral team, and the appropriate institutional authorities.

The Ministerial Endorsement does not mean that formation has been completed.

All volunteers receiving the Initial Ministerial Endorsement are expected to continue the PPFE formation pathway by completing:

✓ PPFE 102 — Pastoral Accompaniment and Listening
✓ PPFE 103 — Communion, Mission, and Responsible Service
✓ Required In-Person Formation Encounter

The continuation and renewal of the Ministerial Endorsement will be connected to active participation, responsible ministry service, compliance with applicable requirements, and progress in the PPFE formation pathway.

After completing PPFE 000, PPFE 101, PPFE 102, PPFE 103, and the required in-person encounters, volunteers will receive the:

Certificate in the Foundations of Prison and Detention Pastoral Care

This certificate recognizes the completion of the PPFE Basic Formation Program.

Orientation → Foundations → Initial Ministerial Endorsement → Pastoral Accompaniment → Communion and Mission → Basic Formation Certificate

ℹ️ The Ministerial Endorsement 📜  permits ministry service. The Basic Formation Certificate  🎓 recognizes completion of the first PPFE formation stage.

After basic formation, volunteers may continue through:

• Intermediate formation
• Advanced formation
• Pastoral leadership formation
• Specialized short courses
• Continuing pastoral education
• 
  

Use the MoodleCloud formation platform to access PPFE courses, presentations, readings, quizzes, and certificates.

To receive your Moodle access information, please complete the PPFE Volunteer Information Form  👇 and submit the Pastoral Reference Letter. 👇 

Once both documents have been received and verified, we will send you instructions for logging in and accessing your PPFE courses.

All new, regular, endorsed, and occasional volunteers must complete the PPFE Volunteer Information Form using the same email address used for MoodleCloud communications.

COMPLETE PPFE FORM. Scroll down 👇 

The volunteer’s pastor must complete and submit the Pastoral Reference Letter directly to the Office of Detention Ministry.

DOWNLOAD PASTORAL REFERENCE LETTER. Scroll down 👇