Inmates builds chair for Pope Francis in view of his visit

In view of the pope’s visit to U.S.A, Inmates in Philadelphia prison built a nice hand carved chair Pope.

The chair is said to have been made from walnut.

It was completed at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center but will be upholstered at Curran Correctional facility, where Francis plans to meet about 100 inmates and their relatives on September 27.

Francis has made prison ministry a focus of his pontificate. He meets frequently with inmates and has washed prisoners’ feet during pre-Easter rituals.

In July he visited a notorious Bolivian prison where he urged inmates to help one another and exhorted staff to rehabilitate prisoners, not humiliate them.

The prisoners meeting the pope would include some who made the chair, but good behaviour would be one of the factor in the selection process of inmates, officials said

“The fact that I got the privilege to do the chair is good enough even if I never see him sit in the chair,” Anthony Newman, assistant director of the vocational program said. “So I’m happy.”

The pontiff is scheduled to visit Philadelphia on 26-27 September for the World Meeting of Families, a triennial Catholic conference focused on strengthening family bonds.