WINDHAM, Maine — William Reagan and his fellow inmates at the Maine Correctional Center often feel that people drive by the facility nestled in rolling farmland north of Portland without thinking about the inmates behind the chain link fence topped with barbed wire.
Bishop Richard Deeley, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, on Christmas Eve morning celebrated Mass at the medium-security facility.
“Sometimes, in here, it’s very easy to feel forgotten,” inmate William Reagan, 65, of Freeport said after the Mass. “His visit makes it clear that we’re all part of the flock and that’s very, very important.”
Deeley visits the correctional center on Dec. 24 every year, alternating between the men’s and women’s sections.
“It’s important for me to be present to them just as it is important for me to be present to people in other parts of the diocese,” Deeley said as he was leaving the facility. “I am here simply to bring the message of Jesus to them, to let them know they are part of God’s people, that they are part of the diocese.”
About 50 inmates participated in Thursday’s Mass and about half of them took Communion, meaning they are Catholics. Sister Marian Zimmerman is the chaplain for the facility and serves inmates with 15 different faith traditions. Services include a weekly Mass and an ecumenical service.
Mercy is not a word most people associate with a penal institution but Warden Scott Landry said he and his staff do not view their jobs “as punishers.”
“We train staff to be considerate and, at times, compassionate with inmates, so they leave better people than when they came in,” Landry said as the bishop prepared for the Mass.
In his homily, Deeley told the inmates “Jesus is the human face of God’s mercy” and “mercy is what God wants us to share with one another.” That message echoed Pope Francis, who has declared this liturgical year the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
“Mercy is the beating heart of the Gospel,” the pope has said.
One corporal act of mercy is to visit the imprisoned, according to information posted on the website for the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops. Other corporal acts of mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick and bury the dead.
The spiritual acts of mercy are to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead.
Corporal acts of mercy are related to the physical needs of people, while spiritual acts of mercy concern a person’s spirit, according to Deeley.
Patrick Dapolito, 45, of Limington said that even though he’s incarcerated, he sees mercy “everywhere.”
“I see God’s love and God’s mercy everywhere,” he said after the Mass. “In here, this facility is unique in that regard. The facility cares. We’re blessed to be here.”