By Sr Catherine FC, Kolkata

^{The celebration of St. Anne’s feast in the Tihar Jail by the inmates was an occasion for thirty two of us including priests and religious and lay people from all over the country to enter the gates of Tihar jail, to have a firsthand experience of the vibrant faith of the prisoners whose life is behind the walls, hidden from the public.} 

^{It was the initiative of Sr. Inigo, (belonging to the Sisters of St. Anne’s of Chennai) who has been teaching English, Bible and has been counselling the inmates which makes the celebration of the Congregational feast every year, the feast of the inmates. This year, it was on  July 24.} 

^{The feast was celebrated in Jail number 4 of Tihar. Sr. Inigo had received the permission from the Headquarters of Tihar to take the visitors for the celebration. At three o’clock in the afternoon we were allowed to go inside the jail. We were instructed not to take anything on our persons including cell phones and money. The menfolk had to be sealed on the hand. All of us had to go through the checking machines. As we passed the road inside the jail, we noticed the well maintained gardens and the walls with inspiring quotes beautifully written on them. There were places of worship for all the faiths. There was a telephone booth too for the prisoners manned by officers.}

^{The inmates ( almost half of them were Africans) were ready in the hall with hymn sheets and the musical instruments. They welcomed us warmly with broad smiles and applause. The chief celebrant for the Mass was the Archbishop of Delhi, Rev. Anil Couto.}

 ^{The singing accompanied by the skillful playing of the instruments was superb, the devotion and enthusiasm was comparable to charismatic conventions. During the liturgy of the word all the inmates opened their Bibles which were well marked and followed the reading. It was very impressive to see how well the prisoners know their Bible. The concentration with which they read the Bible was none less than that of the participants of the competitive exams. It was clear that in their isolation and misery, God is their only solace, the hope of the hopeless, courage of the discouraged.}

 ^{In the homily, Archbishop quoted Bishop Fulton Sheen who pointed out that the only difference between the prisoners and himself was that he was not caught while they were! His homily was a very touching one.} 

^{After the Mass the prisoners thanked Archbishop for his graceful presence among them saying it was like Christ’s second coming. A picture of Jesus painted by them was presented to the Bishop. They thanked the visitors and showered laurels on Sr. Inigo for her love an daunting work for them. Sr. Inigo thanked all the visitors who brought light and joy in the monotonous life of the prisoners, even though for a short while. After the Mass we visited their art gallery with the paintings of Gandhiji, Nehru and other beautiful paintings. It was unbelievable that the prisoners could make such world class paintings.}

^{After that we were served tea and snacks in the lawn which was beautifully arranged with chairs in a semi-circle. After barely twenty minutes we were gently reminded to move on. We were allowed to visit two of the barracks in the jail. As we passed by the prisoners were standing in rapt attention. Each one had stories written on their faces. The yearning to be heard, to be consoled and understood was palpable in each cell of their bodies.} 

^{We managed to chat with a few of them who had sad stories of being unjustly convicted or waiting patiently for the freedom. I personally feel the helplessness in the face of the injustice done to innocent people. We came away with a heavy heart stung by the misery of the fellow human beings and wondering what could be do done to give a bit of solace in their pain.}

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