Prison inmate finds hope in baptism

Apr 15, 2015

By Herbert John Gomez
Anne (not her real name) was overjoyed when she was informed that the Catholic Prison Ministry had received approval to her application for Baptism on March 25. A Kenyan national in her 30s, she has been remanded in prison for the past 16 months. She prayed for repentance and God’s mercy for a conversion to renew her life which was filled with problems, feelings of hopelessness and sorrow after her husband’s death.

Diagnosed with a serious medical condition, Anne’s only wish was to accept Jesus who she believed will protect and save her. “God had a purpose to bring me to this prison. I had to come to this place for this baptism to happen,” she said, with a smile. Faced with various challenges in her life, her courage and hope in God stemmed from her holistic education and stay in a convent when she was a student due to her family’s financial predicament.

The Ministry’s spiritual chaplain, Fr. George Harrison, conducted the baptism ceremony in a cell. He said, “Easter is the celebration of new life and Jesus’ return to the living. In baptism we begin to live a new life —the life of the risen Christ.” Taking her Baptismal vows and the name of Veronica, she shed tears of joy and expressed her spiritual emotions of wanting to be close to Jesus. “I chose the name Veronica because of her courage to wipe the face of Jesus when He carried the cross for our sins. My acceptance of Jesus Christ as my saviour will mark an important step in my life,” added Anne.

Theresa Chin, the prison affairs coordinator for the Ministry, conducted an intensive pre-baptism course for one and half hours for Anne and agreed to be her godparent.

Anne expressed her gratitude and asked Theresa to inform her mother and two children back home, who are baptized Catholics, of her acceptance of Jesus and for prayers of thanksgiving. She hopes to be reunited with her family after serving her prison sentence.

It is a milestone for the Catholic Church for the first baptism to be conducted in prison. The Prison Ministry extends its gratitude to the Prison authorities for their approval for the religious obligations of celebrating the Eucharist and to administer the sacraments of Confession and Baptism for the prison inmates.

Currently, 17 priests and 165 ladies and men volunteers from the Catholic Prison Ministry in the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese visit seven prisons weekly in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang for pastoral care outreach programmes and counselling.

The Ministry has further extended its pastoral services to the inmates in the prisons in Penang and Melaka through their respective Diocese Prison Ministries.