Angelus News | September 22, 2023, Vol. 8, Issue No. 19

A LIFE THAT
CONTINUES
After dying unexpectedly, jail
chaplain Michael Ladisa’s legacy
lives on with his family and the
inmates he helped bring to Christ.
BY TOM HOFFARTH
Michael Ladisa, a chaplain with the Office of Restorative
Justice (ORJ) who died in May, with his grandson
Matteo. | COURTESY OF LADISA FAMILY
Monica Ladisa never knew the
full scope of it all.
She was very much aware
that her husband of 48 years, Michael
Ladisa, worked tirelessly for the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Office
of Restorative Justice’s prison ministry.
The hundreds of hours driving
thousands of miles for more than a
decade, often spending the night away
from their home to connect with a
prison community few were willing to
become immersed with.
She knew he bought books and
things for the inmates, but wasn’t
always sure of the how, the where, the
why.
She heard him say how he benefited
from trips made to Valyermo to the
monastery near the Mojave Desert,
where he would have deep discussions
about the ups and downs in his faith
journey.
But it wasn’t until Michael died of
an unexpected massive heart attack
last May — just a few weeks shy of
his 70th birthday — that she began to
understand the true impact he had on
others.
It started with the thank you messages
that came to her on his behalf on
3x5 notecards stuffed into a post-office
box, or written in pencil on lined
sheets of paper. More of them were
posted online.
Trying to convey all the love,
guidance, and redemption he gave
to them, some were not even written
by the inmates themselves, but by
thankful spouses, friends, and family
members.
Sadly, Michael didn’t get to see
them. But Monica has.
“Many of them just thanking me
for sharing my husband with them,”
Monica said. “They wanted me to
know how he put them on the right
road. He knew everyone was made in
God’s image and treated them that
way.”
***
“Thanks to his kind and encouraging
words, I looked deeper inside myself
and that helped me realize I’m not
a complete failure. … Thank you so
much for supporting him in his selfless
service to all of us who are incarcerated.”
— Note written about Ladisa
***
Family and friends filled St. Kateri
Church in Santa Clarita in July for
Ladisa’s funeral Mass. The homily
and eulogies touched on his humble,
boundless generosity. The tireless
hours driving back and forth from his
home in Castaic to visit those in Santa
Barbara’s jails in an old green Honda
pickup truck with more than 300,000
miles on it.
“It never broke down for the grace
of God,” said Monica, trying to laugh
through tears, speaking recently about
how the grieving process continues.
“He really believed in the motto we
have at our office: It’s all about them,”
said Gonzalo De Vivero, the Office
of Restorative Justice ministry director
who hired Ladisa 12 years ago.
“You do whatever you can to help
the inmates — this is Christ in jail
and they need your help to the best
of your ability. He became a model of
that kind of person in real life.”
Father Francis Benedict, a longtime
member of St. Andrew’s Abbey in
Valyermo, became Michael’s spiritual
director and talked about the devotion
he had to prison outreach.
“Michael loved the ministry because
of the empathy he had on many
levels, a desire to bring people closer
to God and, for some, bring them
back to the Church,” Benedict said.
“He really went the extra 20 miles if
needed.”
All those miles suddenly caught up
with him in late May.
After a long day of gardening at his
home, he went upstairs to shower. He
was short of breath. He called down to
Monica, an experienced nurse, who
ran to him and tried chest compressions.
The paramedics who arrived
could not revive him.
“The last thing he did was smile,”
Monica said.
The couple had five children and
eight grandchildren. They knew the
pain of a sudden loss. Their twin sons,
Steve and John, both died as adults.
Steve was killed in a hit-and-run
accident years ago. The second, John,
was living at their home and died in
September 2022 of a sudden illness.
He was 44.
“Michael was still deeply affected by
that,” Monica said. “Those were heavy
on his heart.”
***
“Thank you for everything. I remember
you blessed my cell with holy water
when I told you there was an evil spirit,
paranormal activity, and prayed for
me. Thank you. … I fall short at times,
but, honest to God, I’m thankful and
happy that I have you as a mentor and
friend.” — Note written about Ladisa
***
De Vivero first connected with Michael
from his volunteer trips to the
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s North
Michael Ladisa (left) with ORJ colleagues at a luncheon for archdiocesan employees
on May 23, just days before his death. | OFFICE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
County Correctional Facility in Castaic.
That building was a maximum-security
complex with some 1,600
inmates, a place De Vivero called
“heavy duty members.”
De Vivero said Michael would “always
ask a million questions, wanting
all the details he could get. What I
found out was that he did that because
he really wanted to do the best job he
could, to blend in with the people,
and not break any rules. He was able
to establish a trust, and I began to
appreciate his work even more.”
During dinner one night, De Vivero
approached him about a problem: He
couldn’t fill a local chaplain role at
the Santa Barbara main jail, a minimum-security
facility with about 700
inmates. The pay wasn’t much.
“Michael said, ‘Why don’t I help
you? I think I can handle that,’ ” said
De Vivero, knowing it would entail
more than 150 miles and up to three
hours of driving round-trip from his
home.
Years went by and Ladisa was known
for the respect he drew from the
inmates based on his dependability
and compassion. One example that
was not well known even to his circle
of friends: He and Monica took in
a woman released from jail with
nowhere to go. Michael converted his
home office into a living space for her.
She has been living with the couple
for the past 30 years.
He also enriched his spiritual life by
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