“Day of Mercy” with the Prisoners
FOGGIA, Italy - On Saturday, May 11, 2024, for the city of Foggia, the “Day of Mercy” took place at the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned Mother of God. This wonderful meeting was attended by prisoners accompanied by their chaplains. They were also accompanied by volunteers from Santeramo in Colle of the Association of Mary Queen of All Hearts and by the Montfortian novices Matteo and Martino, who already during the year visit the prisoners every Tuesday afternoon, listening to their stories, sharing with simplicity, faith and the rosary.
During the bus ride, punctuated by prayers and songs, the joy of being able to live this experience shone through on the faces of the prisoners.
Once at the Sanctuary, the group celebrated the Eucharist, presided over by Mgr. Giorgio FERRETTI, archbishop of Foggia-Bovino. In the homily, the archbishop explained that the evangelical beatitudes must be lived in the light of the happiness that we experience every day by “giving more than receiving”. He invited us not to lock ourselves in an empty room, where no one can offer help and where darkness will dominate, but to open wide the doors to light, to dialogue and reconciliation with God and with our brothers. Suddenly, we will see the face of God in the eyes of our brothers, and thus, we will be able to be helped and in turn help our neighbor who is suffering or in need.
After the Eucharistic celebration, the prisoners, with the volunteers and the Montfort novices, fraternally shared the meal and the experience lived on this “Day of Mercy”.
On the way back, a conviction arises in our hearts: it would be wonderful, a true happiness, if every day our hearts were capable of mercy. Not just a passive compassion for the misfortune of others, but an active and concrete feeling which pushes us to act to alleviate it.
The mission of the volunteers of the Association of Mary Queen of All Hearts and the Montfortian novices Matteo and Martino continues every week at Altamura prison, in the footsteps and with the heart of Father de Montfort who loved to go “visit and encourage the prisoners in prisons”, as he wrote in one of his letters (cf. Letter 10).
Fr. Alfio MANDELLI, SMM
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