Chris Castillo

Chris Castillo’s 52-year-old mother, Pilar, was murdered in 1991. After becoming involved in prison ministry – specifically Bridges to Life almost 25 years ago – he learned to forgive the men who killed his mother. Chris shares his story with incarcerated persons through Bridges to Life, a 14 week faith-based restorative justice program. He has worked as a reporter and a marketing specialist before taking a job with Murder Victim’s Families for Reconciliation, where he created a dialogue with homicide survivors who were against the death penalty and showed an interested in speaking out against capital punishment.

Chris is currently on the board of Journey of Hope: From Violence to Healing and served on a Restorative Justice Steering Committee for Catholic Mobilizing Network. He has worked with Kairos and was involved in twelve St. Kolbe retreats with the Catholic Church – the focus is to bring Christ to those incarcerated. He has been sharing the story of his mother for almost 25 years to end the death penalty and improve the lives on the incarcerated.