Author: Jerry Higgins, Communications Officer
It’s not every day the N.C. Department of Adult Correction has a Papal honoree working with offenders, but that is now the case with Deacon Michael Vandiver.
Deacon Vandiver, who is assigned to prison ministries by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, was recognized on Feb. 12 at the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral with the Benemerenti Medal, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Vatican and Pope Francis. Deacon Vandiver was nominated by the Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama, the Bishop of Raleigh, and was one of nine individuals who received the honor from Bishop Zarama.
“As Bishop Zarama said in the sermon, Deacon Mike’s service in North Carolina prisons is so great that it has reached the ears of the Pope,” said Sarah Jobe, the Interim Director of Chaplaincy Services for NCDAC and attendee at the ceremony. “NCDAC is honored and grateful to have such a dedicated and compassionate volunteer serving with us.”
Deacon Vandiver has visited 15 NCDAC facilities, but he also facilitates the offering of Catholic services at even more institutions. According to Jobe, Deacon Vandiver brought Bishop Zarama for a Holy Thursday Service (celebrating the Last Supper) in 2024 at North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women that included foot washing and Holy Eucharist alongside an ecumenical Communion. He has offered similar services at Central Prison on Death Row in years past.
“The Bishop enjoyed his visit,” said Deacon Vandiver, who is from Duplin County. “After I was ordained about 10 years ago, I was familiar with the (North Carolina) system. I ministered in Pender Correctional and was first involved in the prison system in Massachusetts as I was part of a singing group that visited a women’s prison for mass.”
A few months ago, Deacon Vandiver received a message from Bishop Zarama informing him of the Papal honor and was shocked at the news.
“I’d heard about the honor but wasn’t clear about it,” Deacon Vandiver said. “I called my wife while I was on the way to a prison. It came out of the blue.”
The Benemerenti Medal was created by Pope Gregory XVI, and dates to the late 18th/early 19th century. It was first awarded to soldiers in the Papal Army. The medal was later extended to members of the clergy and laity for exceptional service to the Roman Catholic Church. It can be granted to persons as young as 35 and its reception is open to Catholics as well as members of other faith traditions.
The medal has on one side the image of Gregory XVI and on the other an angel bearing a scroll with the word "benemerenti" (to a well-deserving person) under the papal emblems. The civil medal has the word "benemerenti" surrounded by a crown of oak leaves engraved on its face side. They are worn on the breast, suspended by ribbons of the papal colors.
Chaplain Jobe said, “This honor is well-deserved and a celebration of what is possible when our community partners come alongside NCDAC to serve with grace, passion, and humility.”