Bishop tells inmates: Christ is ‘always close to you’

As 18 men prayed the rosary before a midday Thursday Mass, Bishop Earl Fernandes knelt on the tile floor in front of one of the chairs in the back of the chapel and joined them for the final decades.

With head down and eyes closed, the bishop recited Hail Marys, Glory Bes and the Our Father with a quiet intensity and solemn fervor that most of the men in the room most likely didn’t notice.

After the rosary ended, the bishop took his position at the back of the chapel for a procession to start the first of back-to-back Masses on March 23.

As the men, all clad in dark blue pants and light blue shirts, sang the Lenten hymn “Lord, Who Throughout These 40 Days,” the procession to the altar included a cross bearer who doubled as the server; Father Joseph Eddy, O.deM., a Mercedarian priest, chaplain and concelebrant for the Mass; and Deacon Dan Hann.

Nothing out of the ordinary for a Mass with the bishop except the location.

Bishop Fernandes was celebrating Mass inside the Madison Correctional Institution for inmates housed inside the rural Madison County facility. Immediately afterward, the bishop moved to a separate half of the prison to offer Mass for another group of inmates.

For the third time since Bishop Fernandes assumed leadership of the diocese on May 31, 2022, he visited a prison in central Ohio. He previously celebrated Masses at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution two days before Christmas and at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville on New Year’s Eve.

The bishop has said he wants to visit each prison inside the diocese as soon as his schedule allows.

Inside the Madison Correctional Institution, which opened in 1987 and houses approximately 2,100 incarcerated men spanning minimum to medium security levels, the two chapels are similar in design. Each has narrow stained glass windows, painted walls and a movable altar. Various religious dominations hold services there throughout the week.

As the bishop delivered his homily at the first Mass, a luminous white dove painted on a wall to his right with the inscription “Hope is never gone …” helped frame his message. Directly below the mural on the floor sat a carved wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was made in 1993 by an inmate who also carved the crucifix used in the procession.

Prisoners listened attentively and with appreciation to have the bishop present. During the consecration, many of the men knelt on the floor and bowed their heads in reverence. 

Most of them received Holy Communion while a few came forward for special blessings. On the seat next to one of the men rested a small bound copy of the St. Joseph edition of the New Testament.

Whatever crimes landed these men in prison, the inmates had come to Mass as God’s children to receive the bishop’s blessing and be in the presence of Christ on the altar in the Blessed Sacrament.

“It’s great to be with you here and to bring the good news of salvation,” the bishop said at the start of his homily at the first Mass. “We are all called to be witnesses to love – even here.”

Similar to life in prison, Jesus was entombed before the stone was rolled back at his Resurrection, the bishop told the men.

“No one wants to be here,” Bishop Fernandes said, “but you have to live for something else – a special relationship with the living God.”

He reminded them that “God’s mercy and love is greater than our sins” and to remember that He “has created you for a specific purpose.”

“Do you realize the power God has given you right here in this place?” the bishop asked. “You’re united with the Church praying for others.

“As the bishop of Columbus, I call you to be witnesses to hope and love. Be my witnesses to Christ’s presence.” 

At the second Mass for inmates located in an adjoining area with a higher security level, a diverse assembly of 16 men listened attentively as the bishop, joined by Father Eddy and Deacon Tom Rowlands, told them in his homily that he was happy to be among them.

“The bishop represents Christ as the Good Shepherd who’s always close to you,” Bishop Fernandes said.

“I’m praying for you and all the people that are close to you, and I ask you to pray for me and for all of us.”

He asked them to use the strength that God has given each individual to be witnesses to hope to fellow inmates and to those who come in contact with them.

“There’s hope of getting out of here one day,” the bishop said, “but there’s a greater goal to get to heaven. God gives you the hope of heaven.”

After the Mass, Bishop Fernandes encouraged the prisoners to be witnesses of faith. He emphasized that “God’s love doesn’t fail,” and, even as inmates, “God has not made you for mediocrity but for greatness.

“Don’t ever lose sight of God because God never loses sight of you.”