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The school's sixth grade students create placemats drawn from the religion lessons taught by Hibbs.
The next Kairos ministry will be conducted the weekend of Oct. 5-8. It will mark the 17th visitation in nine years.
"We visit the women's prison twice a year - once in the fall and again in the spring when the children are in school," Hibbs said.
Kairos is a worldwide ministerial program. In neighboring Arkansas, the interfaith work is directed toward the inmates in the state Department of Correction's men's unit at Tucker, near Pine Bluff.
Hibbs cited a Scriptural passage ("I was in prison and you visited me". - Matthew 25:36.) which called on Christians to visit the imprisoned as an underlining principle of Kairos.
Kairos also works with youth offenders through its "Kairos Torch" program, encouraging young inmates to share their life's experiences as a means of rehabilitating them.
Because the families of inmates "do time" right along with those in prisons, the Kairos Outside program works with family and friends of inmates, Hibbs said.
Participation in Kairos requires a one-year commitment involving a weekend per month spent with inmates, Hibbs said.
During the weekend retreats, the inmates who participate in Kairos select a team leader to be the spokesman for the others, she said.
Participation is done voluntarily, Hibbs said.
"No one inside the prison is forced to accept God," Hibbs said. "Our main purpose is to listen to them and show love to the inmates."
Hibbs, who is the last member of the Sisters of St. Joseph (La Grange, Ill.) assigned to Clarksdale, said she has been with St. Elizabeth since 1992.
Contemporary religious education follows a more applied approach to doctrinal teachings, Hibbs said.
Not only do Catholic children learn about "Who made us", but for what purposes, which includes offering more Christian charity to others, including prison inmates, Hibbs said.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Larry Binz worked with Kairos in western Arkansas for two years.
