Our Name and History
The word praestolari is Latin for "to wait" or "to stand ready." It came to us through a passage in Lamentations that Thomas Merton quotes in New Seeds of Contemplation:
Bonum est praestolari cum silentio salutare Dei.
It is good to wait in silence for the salvation of God.
Our organization, formally founded in 2013 by Ray Leonardini as Prison Contemplative Fellowship (PCF), grew out of the Contemplative Fellowship that had already been meeting inside Folsom Prison for nearly 20 years. Over the next decade, Ray spread access to Centering Prayer inside prisons in California and throughout the country by facilitating groups inside Folsom Prison, producing quality books and materials, and mentoring volunteers. Today, that work continues under the name Praestolari.
The community chose to adopt the name Praestolari because it points to the practice rather than the place. It points to the waiting, the listening, the standing ready. To what we are doing together, rather than where some of us happen to be.
Praestolari originated as a separate and much smaller organization focused on building community to accompany contemplatives affected by incarceration. Its two main projects prior to becoming part of PCF both involved partnering with Contemplative Outreach’s Prison Outreach Service Team: ensuring the distribution of newsletters to practitioners inside the walls, and providing opportunities for retreat to those who had completed sentences. When Ray retired at the end of 2023, he asked Chandra to take on the role of directing PCF, and she brought Praestolari with her into the PCF fold. Chandra will tell you she experienced some relief when the poetic-but-hard-to-spell name faded into the background, becoming a dba name. She wasn't initially sold on the idea of it being the one we’d carry forward. But what mattered most to the community turned out to be what the name expressed: hope, a forward orientation, not being alone, and the healing that is the essence of the practice.
Our mission will always defy words – that is its nature. Various threads have grown alongside each other and continue to be woven into the unity to which we aspire. Challenges, setbacks and isolation are constant companions on the journey, particularly for those who are serving or have served time – yet there is a Oneness that transcends all division, standing ready to enfold us as we consent. The fullness of that embrace is what we choose to await in faith and with great hope. Some even name it Love.
Here are some highlights from among the many events and people that have contributed to our being where we are today:
| 1986 | Fred Ekhart appointed Coordinator of an early COL Chapter, bringing into that work his concern for those experiencing incarceration - he would later be appointed to attend to prison outreach at the national level |
|---|---|
| ~1996 | Mike Kelley and residents begin meeting at Folsom |
| Late 1990s into early 2000s | Flourishing group with up to 400 members at Folsom - initial publication of Locked Up and Free, along with articles Meditation in Folsom and Meditation After Folsom; Thomas Keating visits Folsom and several other California prisons |
| 2006 | Sam Mungo (co-author with Marrietta Della Penna of A Pathway to Freedom: Introduction to Centering Prayer Workbook) appointed coordinator of prison outreach for COL at Fred’s passing |
| 2007 | Ray Leonardini first goes into Folsom |
| 2009 | CO Northern California sponsors state-wide retreat and conference for prison outreach volunteers in Burlingame, CA |
| 2012 | Finding God Within first published (2nd and 3rd editions in 2014 and 2016, respectively; then again with new material in 2018) |
| May 2013 | Prison Contemplative Fellowship incorporated as a 501(c)(3) |
| August 2014 | Sita Lozoff visited Folsom; Human Kindness Foundation featured Ray and PCF’s work, spreading the message far and wide |
| September 2017 | “New Partnership” formed between Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. (COL) and PCF; Ray and other prison outreach volunteers invited to participate in grassroots priority setting for COL |
| June 2017- early 2019 | Ray/PCF wrote articles for COL News & PCF covered sending of newsletters inside |
| August 2019 | Praestolari incorporated as a 501(c)(3) |
| 2019 | Toxic Shame published |
| December 2019 | Volunteers for COL (including but not only Chandra) took over maintenance of prison/jail resident mailing list and assuring newsletters continued to be sent when PCF was no longer able to do so |
| May 2020 | Chandra appointed Prison Outreach Liaison for Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., with task of surveying current prison outreach volunteers |
| April 2021 | Current iteration of Contemplative Outreach’s Prison Outreach Service Team (COPOST) established; Volunteer Support, Going Inside, and Outside the Walls groups began meeting virtually |
| October 2021 | Premier screening of Holding Still documentary |
| 2022 | Revised edition of FGW published, with additional material referencing the new Holding Still documentary |
| January 2023 | First Centering Prayer Intensive retreat for people who have experienced incarceration cohosted at St. Benedict’s monastery in Snowmass, Colorado by COPOST and Praestolari |
| January 2024 | Ray retired, Chandra took on Executive Director role; Praestolari became part of PCF |
| September 2024 | Contemplative Outreach 40th Anniversary Conference included panel discussion by OTW members; immediately following, 2nd annual retreat held at Ignatius House in Atlanta,Georgia |
| December 2024 | Inaugural edition of Centering Inside published |
| September 2025 | 3rd annual retreat held at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colorado |
| February 2026 | Decision made to change name to Praestolari |
Standing Ready
Praestolari stands ready to welcome and accompany people choosing to pursue what Thomas Keating calls “the spiritual journey” – a journey toward ever-increasing freedom. We are first and foremost a living community of practitioners. Together, we stand ready to celebrate the gifts that emerge as our personal and collective “false” (homemade) selves are gently peeled away. We also strive to compassionately hold space for the parts of ourselves that resist healing and transformation.
We accompany all affected by incarceration:
those currently experiencing the loss of physical freedom,
the family and friends who serve time alongside them,
those who work in prisons and jails
as well as those coming home,
and all who long for a more restoratively inclined criminal justice system.
We wait patiently, and we believe passionately in the goodness of every person, as well as in the goodness and power of community.
This is just the surface of the story. The history of Centering Prayer in prisons and jails, Folsom's long-standing Centering Prayer group, Ray's foundational work building PCF, and Praestolari’s role/origins, is told across three issues of Centering Inside, our printed newsletter that is sent to our community members and friends inside the walls:
