Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki held a prayer service with more than 100 inmates at a prison in Racine Thursday as part of the Jubilee Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis.
About half the prisoners who attended were Latino. Several of them were part of a band and chorus that performed Spanish hymns during the service. A prison chaplain translated the Archbishop’s Easter message.
Listecki told reporters the pope has called on Catholics across the world to carry out corporal acts of mercy this year, including visiting prisons.
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“All the other ones are pretty easy: food, drink, clothing, shelter, visiting the sick. But when you’re starting to talk about visiting in prison, that’s one that you have to work at a little bit more,” he said. “We as a church, we don’t want to forget them.”
Following the service one inmate said the Archbishop’s visit did make him feel that he hasn’t been forgotten by the outside world. He said it inspired him to good works when he’s released.
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