Sr Janet Glass RSJ outside the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Goulburn. PHOTO: Catholic Voice.
When Josephite Sister Janet Glass first arrived in Goulburn, she never imagined her ministry would lead her inside some of the state’s toughest prisons, reports Catholic Voice.
“I was in the church at Our Lady of Fatima, arranging flowers for a wedding,” she recalled with a smile. “Father Greg Beath came in and said, ‘You’d be really good out at the jail.’ I told him, ‘Go away! We don’t do that kind of ministry.’”
But a short time later, Sr Janet got what she calls “a tap on the shoulder”.
“I was to go out incognito and see how I felt,” she laughed. “So, I said to the good Lord, if this is what you want me to do, then don’t let me feel frightened or upset. And when I went in, I felt completely at home.”
That first visit changed everything.
“They were like sheep without a shepherd,” Sr Janet said. “It must have been meant to be, because I ended up there for about fifteen years.”
Sr Janet served as chaplain at Goulburn Correctional Centre and later at Silverwater, Long Bay and the Alexander Maconochie Centre in Canberra. The work required full security training – hostage response, suicide prevention, and crisis management – but her approach remained grounded in simplicity and compassion.
“It’s just common sense,” she said. “You walk in, you say hello, you listen. You never ask what they’ve done. Never. It’s a bit like, ‘What would Jesus do?’ You just love them as they are.”
Sr Janet said her philosophy was built on empathy.
“I used to think, suppose this was my brother, or my father, or my best friend. There but for the grace of God go I. We’re all sinners. My job wasn’t to judge. It was to listen.”
One of her most memorable encounters was with an inmate who confessed he couldn’t count change.
“He said, ‘If something costs $1 and I give $2, I don’t know what I should get back.’ So, we started lessons. We used blocks – here are 5, take away 3, how many left?’ – infants’ stuff really. And one day he just lit up and said, ‘Sister, I’ve got it!’”
That same man, a heroin addict and talented artist, was preparing for an exhibition before his release.
“His paintings went from dark, horrific images to these luminous landscapes,” Sr Janet said. “It was extraordinary.”
Despite the sadness and occasional fear, Sr Janet found humour in unexpected moments.
“Once at Silverwater, two big Comancheros called out, ‘Hey Sister, come down here! Humphrey B. Bear’s on,” she laughed. “So, there I was, dancing to Humphrey B. Bear with two bikies. You don’t say no to that!”
She also remembered bringing chocolate biscuits for after Mass at Long Bay.
“I asked the governor for permission. Next thing, the crowd at Mass doubled! I said to Father Terry, ‘They’re not here for us – they’re here for the chocolate biscuits!’”
Through it all, she says her Josephite spirituality kept her grounded.
“We’re on the ground with the people, and that’s what Mary MacKillop wanted,” she said.
“You meet people where they are, and you stay real. We didn’t drop down from heaven. We’ve got families and heartaches, just like everyone else.”
Working in prisons, Sr Janet said, was her unexpected mission field.
“I always wanted to be a missionary, and I think I got that wish – just in a different way from what I expected. It was very grounding and very enlightening. There were saints in jail, I firmly believe that.”
Now, years after leaving chaplaincy, Sr Janet continues her quiet ministry of prayer.
“I still pray every day for our priests,” she says. “It’s not an easy life – they get a lot of criticism and not enough support. I think loyalty and prayer matter very much.”
Looking back, Sr Janet said she never saw her work as extraordinary.
“It was just what you do when you’re called. You love the people in front of you, and you leave the rest to God.”
This article by Veronika Cox was published in Catholic Voice, the publication of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn.