In Argentina, 600 missionaries renew commitment to spreading Gospel

Bogotá, Colombia, Sep 8, 2017 / 02:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Prison inmates from jails around Colombia prepared themselves spiritually for the Pope’s visit to their country through prayers, letters, messages, and watching his arrival to their country on television.

Although the Pope Francis’s Sept. 6-10 trip to Colombia does not include a visit to a penitentiary, the Pope’s visit has been viewed as a sign of peace and serenity for persons deprived of their liberty.  

The trip holds even more special meaning for those who have asked that the government consider the Jubilee Law, through which inmates with minor offenses are granted a reduction of their sentence.

Encouraged through the country’s Catholic Penitentiary Ministry and the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute, inmates of the various prison centers throughout the country prepared spiritually for the Pope’s visit.  

Fr. Edgar Galeano, chaplain at Colombia’s Model Jail in Bogota, explained that the inmates in his prison participated in prayer groups, daily recitation of the Rosary, and reading sacred scripture. In addition, every block read a book called “Take the First Step” in order to develop ten spiritual encounters on a weekly basis.

Likewise, in the penitentiary centers, liturgical celebrations were held with the motto “Pope Francis: the prisoners in Colombia are praying for you.” During the services, they asked for forgiveness for their personal sins and lit candles to pray for the protection of Pope Francis on his journey.

One of the inmates of Block 3 began painting a picture of Pope Francis three years ago. “Three years ago the initiative was born, a hope, a faith was born. Something in my heart told me that it would be a nice gesture to give something to a representative of Jesus.”

Aldo, another one of the prison inmates, wrote a letter to the pontiff in which he said: “If I could speak to you personally, Pope Francis, I would ask you to perform three miracles: Forgive all my mistakes and all the times I have hurt others; to return to be a child with the memories lived, having repented of having done bad things; I do not want to move away from my family. I would like to start over.”

Carlos Manuel Gutiérrez, a spokesman for the Building New and Better Roads Corporation in Bucaramanga, Colombia told the Colombian outlet Vanguardia that the letters written by the inmates are due to be delivered on Sept. 9 to Pope Francis, during his visit to Medellin.

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Toronto, Canada, Jun 5, 2019 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- When Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam enters Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night, he will cross himself and then point upward to the sky. The cross will be to help him remember to give glory to … […]

Mexico City, Mexico, Feb 25, 2021 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- A church in Mexico City was the scene on Sunday of the death of Juan, a man in his sixties who got down on his knees to pray at the entrance of the church, made his way up the main aisle still on his knees, passed out, and died within minutes in front of the altar.

The same afternoon the parish priest celebrated Juan’s funeral Mass accompanied by several parishioners.

The official report states that Juan entered Jesus the Priest parish church, around noon on Feb. 21, and died shortly thereafter on his knees in front of the altar, about 45 minutes before the start of the afternoon Mass.

The sacristan, who witnessed the man’s collapse, quickly informed the pastor, Fr. Sajid Lozano, who called an ambulance, but “there were several signs indicating there was no more we could do because he had already died,” the priest said.

Speaking to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, Lozano said that “Juan came on his own two feet to his funeral Mass with his body present there, which is the death of the just, a death without suffering.”

“Juan had the strength and the courage to come to the house of God to take his last breath,” he added.

According to the magazine Desde la Fe, a publication of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, very few people knew Juan, but moved by the way he died, many participated in the funeral Mass.

Police and paramedics “told us that the death had occurred due to a sudden heart attack and that there were no signs of violence,” the priest told the archdiocesan magazine. The authorities also gave the priest permission to go ahead with the Mass and suggested that he find one of Juan’s relatives.

Mexican law states that when a person dies outside of a hospital, the body cannot be removed until the coroner and local prosecutor come to examine the body to verify there was no foul play.

Consequently, Juan’s body had to be left right where he died. As the Sunday Mass was scheduled to begin shortly at 1 p.m., Lozano made the impromptu decision to make it the funeral Mass for the deceased.

A young man who was passing by near the church was able to identify the body and then accompanied the authorities to the family’s residence. The son of the deceased was at home, and shocked by the news, went to the church to participate in the funeral Mass.

As a sign of respect, Juan’s body was covered with a white sheet brought by one of the faithful and a candle was placed at his feet.  

Lozano told ACI Prensa that “death is still a painful and unexpected event”, and it is “only through faith that we have the hope that it is not the end of everything, but the beginning of eternal life.”

The pastor told Desde la Fe that the faithful “prayed for a person they did not know, but that he was a member of the community.”

The dramatic turn of events “made a big impact on the people,” surprised by what had happened, and “together we reflected that death is only the end of our pilgrimage in this world, but the beginning of eternal life,” he concluded.

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