Pope
prepares to wash feet of inmates at Rebibbia prison
(Vatican Radio) On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis travels across
Rome to meet with detainees at the Rebibbia Prison and celebrate the Mass of
Our Lord’s Supper with them. During the liturgy, which recalls Jesus’ last
supper with his disciples on the day before his Crucifixion, the Pope will wash
the feet of 12 inmates selected from Rebibbia’s male and female detention
centres.
It’s not the first
time that Pope Francis has performed this gesture of service outside the
traditional setting of a church or basilica: on Holy Thursday 2013, shortly
after his election, he went to Rome's Casal del Marmo juvenile detention
centre, where he washed the feet of young male and female offenders Last year,
he presided over the Mass and foot-washing ritual at a rehabilitation facility
for the elderly and people with disabilities on the outskirts of the city.
To find out more about
the inmates who’ll be greeting the Pope and attending Mass in Rebibbia’ chapel,
Philippa Hitchen spoke with a longtime volunteer at the prison, Maria Ponce de
Leon…
Maria says she began volunteering in 1998 as part of the Italian
Caritas ‘volunteers in prison’ association. There are over 100 volunteers who
visit inmates in the three male and one female institutes that make up the
Rebibbia complex….
A listening ministry
The volunteers offer
different kinds of support, from providing clothing, to contacting lawyers or
helping the elderly to get their pensions, but the most important part is just
listening to the prisoners’ stories….
Maria has visited sick
inmates in the infirmary, as well as transsexuals and those in the high
security section of the prison, while her current focus is on foreign
detainees, especially from North African countries. They are serving sentences
for all sorts of crimes, from drug trafficking to simply having an expired
residence permit. In prison, she says, you find the poorest people, including
the homeless, those with mental disabilities and those who have no one else to
care for them…
Preparations for the papal
visit
Maria says right now
“the whole prison is fizzling with excitement and enthusiasm” as inmates
prepare for Pope Francis to visit them. About 150 male prisoners and a similar
number of female detainees will be inside the chapel with the Pope, while
another 400 will be outside with volunteers and prison staff watching the Mass
on several maxi screens….
Those taking part in
the liturgy have been selected from amongst the regular attendants of Sunday Mass
in prison and Maria says they are people of different faiths or none. The
chapel, she notes, is called the 'Our Father' chapel, as it is open to
everybody. Anyone from outside who visits the prison brings life to those
inside, she concludes, and that is the most important thing for them.
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