Inmates of the five correctional centres in Lagos State on Friday celebrated Christmas with the Lagos Catholic Archbishop, Alfred Adewale Martins, and received gift items from the church.
The event, an annual visit of the church, was held at the Ikoyi Lagos Correctional Centre and featured a mass celebration and the consecration of 25 inmates with the sacrament of confirmation by the archbishop.
The inmates were given bags of rice, confectionery, toiletries, clothes, disinfectants, beverages, cash, and educational aids to support their reform.
The materials given to the inmates were donations from the Prison Apostolate of the Church, the Association of Catholic Lawyers, the Christian Women Organisation (CWO) and others.
The event, hosted by the Church of the Assumption Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos, raised funds to support the inmates’ education and training.
Speaking at the event, attended by the management of the custodian centres, Mr Martins urged the inmates to learn to forgive those who have wronged them to free their minds from the burden and also free their offenders from the burden of guilt.
“Those of us who received the sacrament of confirmation, you have received a seal of fire of the Holy Spirit to be a bearer of the good news everywhere you are.
“Don’t allow your present condition to determine the way you live and do things, but live above your situation and see the impactful work of God in your life.
“Look beyond the troubles of the world to see the level of ascendance the Lord is taking you from here,” he said.
The high priest, who prayed for the inmates, said that, like other vulnerable people in society, they needed assistance to become better people.
He prayed for an end to insecurity in Nigeria, saying that it is a welcome development for the federal government to seek foreign assistance to fight terrorists.
He said the government should partner with other countries in a way that would allow the country to retain its sovereignty.
The chaplain of the Catholic Prison Apostolate, Kingsley Agada, said that, aside from the monthly session with the inmates, the humanitarian arm engaged inmates weekly in scripture study to reform them and focus them to gain salvation.
(NAN)