“Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:34-36)
How do we serve Jesus Christ through the Corporal Works of Mercy if He is not here in person to be served?
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40)
As Christians, we are called to treat the people around us as if they were Christ Himself. Each human being was hand-crafted with love, imbued with God’s life, and given a soul. As temples of the Holy Spirit, we are asked to treat them with dignity, respect, and mercy, following the example of Jesus.
That is why Relevant Radio has partnered with Edovo, a nonprofit organization providing a digital learning platform for people incarcerated in American prisons. For many, prison can serve as a harsh, cruel environment that breeds vice instead of rehabilitation. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 82% of people released from state prisons end up being rearrested at least once within 10 years. Edovo is seeking to help break that mold by providing learning opportunities, education, and fresh starts for prisoners.
“We’ve received hundreds of letters from incarcerated individuals. In keeping with our Mission Statement, we began to explore how we could reach this demographic in a more intentional way,” said Jennifer Lee, Mission Coordinator for Relevant Radio. “While initially we envisioned live access to our programming within prison walls, that is not currently feasible in many places, for various reasons. That’s when we were introduced to Edovo. While we can’t provide live programming, we can offer content such as The Saints series, audiobooks, and video programs. And we’re thrilled at how many people we are now able to reach on this platform!”
Through partnerships with major tech providers, our platform has been made accessible on digital tablets in the majority of correctional facilities, guaranteeing continuous access to essential learning—regardless of policy or leadership shifts. While Relevant Radio’s live programming may be accessible to some inmates at facilities that provide radios, location and signal strength are common issues, and the number of souls we can reach that way is limited.
Relevant Radio is proud to announce that our content was recently made available on the Edovo platform and as of January, Relevant Radio is now present at over 1,100 correctional facilities across the United States. Already, inmates have begun to enjoy our content, with Father Rocky’s Eucharistic Encounters, the Saints series, and the Holy Rosary being some of the most popular options. Users have tuned into Relevant Radio content around 25,000 times to date, and the numbers are growing every day.
While Edovo isn’t currently available in the federal prison system (tablets are not permitted), we hope that someday they will adopt this program, bringing educational resources to over a hundred thousand more people.
We encourage you to continue praying for those incarcerated, praying for this ministry, and doing whatever you can personally for those who find themselves in such unfortunate circumstances. Pray that the Edovo platform begins finding its way to even more correctional facilities around the country, and pray that the Word of God begins finding its way into even more ears.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Patron Saint of the Imprisoned, Pray for us!
