One of the greatest prophetic signs of Saint John XXIII during his pontificate was to visit the inmates of the Regina Coeli prison in Rome. With the humility that characterized him, John XIII presented himself to the prisoners as “I am John, your brother. Since you could not leave to see me, I have decided to come and see you." The visit of the "Good Pope" (as he was called) not only filled the inmates of the Regina Coeli prison with hope but also all the prisoners in the world, who began to call the Holy Father "our brother John."
I personally think that prison ministry is one of the best kept secrets of the pastoral and social work carried out by the Catholic Church. Perhaps because sometimes it is difficult to share the comfort and encouragement and all the support that is given to prisoners, in the midst of very sad and difficult situations.
I recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, and by the grace of God, I have had the blessing to be able to regularly visit prisoners during the last five years. For four years I went every Wednesday to the federal prison of Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and for the last year, I have been visiting the prison at Km 15 of Azua, here in the Dominican Republic, every other week.
A good friend asked me: what does a priest do during prison visits? I replied: "give hope to the prisoners." I think that is our job, to give hope to a population full of hopelessness, either because of the guilt that they carry, because of the difficulties of the place, because of loneliness, because of the lack of medical attention, because of the hunger that they may end up going through or by the abandonment of their family and friends.
During the years of my formation before ordination, I never thought that I would end up doing prison ministry, much less that this would be a blessing in my ministry. I pray that we never forget all those people who are deprived of their liberty, and that we strive to learn how to give them hope. It is not an easy task, but God always gives us the grace, the resources, and the people that are needed to bring hope to the prisoners.
“Don't worry, hope is for everyone. Also for you.”, said John XXIII to the prisoners of the Regina Coeli prison.
