‘I have visited HMP Birmingham every Christmas morning since I came to Birmingham in 2000. The Anglican bishop also visits and so, in conjunction with him, we take it in turns to take either the 8.30 a.m. or the 10.30 a.m. slot. This works out quite well because it means every prisoner who wants to go to a Christian service gets a chance to do so.
‘Pope John XXIII visited children suffering from polio at the Bambin Gesù hospital on Christmas Day 1958 and the following day went to the Regina Coeli prison, where he told the prisoners: “You could not come to me, so I came to you.” These acts created a sensation, and he wrote in his diary: “great astonishment in the Roman, Italian and international press. I was hemmed in on all sides: authorities, photographers, prisoners, wardens.”
‘I was a student in Rome at the time, and I remember it well and the huge impact his visit had on the prisoners, the wider Church and, of course, the Italian public. Since then it’s been a thing that a good number of bishops around the world have tried to do. Christmas Day is such a special day and a visit to a prison draws attention to a people who are easily forgotten.
‘I actually began to visit a prison on Christmas Day when I was a bishop in North London. I remember one of these visits very clearly and it was to Wormwood Scrubs. It was really quite funny because the chaplain and the prison officer and myself were let into a vast yard inside the prison. As we walked across the yard I noticed what are really no more than little slits of windows all the way around the yard’s circumference.
‘It was early in the morning and there was a stillness and quietness which was broken suddenly by a loud, bellowing voice echoing all the way around the yard singing at the top of his voice: “Yo, ho ho, Father Christmas, what are you bringing us today?” This rather amusing incident captured for me something of the awful austerity of the prison combined with the humanity of the prisoners and the special nature of a very special day.
‘To have the privilege of celebrating Mass with prisoners is truly a wonderful occasion but it is, as you can imagine, also very emotional. Of course, they miss their families, their connections, and for most prisoners these are the most important contacts and relationships they have and, on the whole, the ones that last, and so they feel very deeply not being with their families at this time.
‘It is also a day when the religious sentiment within comes back to the surface and they call upon the religious heritage and their innate faith which is for many an important way of living through their time in prison. We sing carols, not very well but always with great gusto; the chapel is full with maybe a hundred or more. It’s a very emotional moment – quite a few have a tear in their eyes and we just try and proclaim the mystery of God’s presence.
‘We remind them that the prison walls cannot keep out God’s love. I remind them of the love of God, the importance of the family, that they are accepted in God’s sight, but yet how the gratuity of God’s love does demand a response from us. A response of sorrow or of contrition but also of hope and confidence in the life that has been given us.
‘Obviously there is security to go through and the chaplain is with me and escorts me through, but you know, the truth is, you enter into another world. The whole service lasts probably an hour and one quarter – there is time to settle them down and welcome them, celebrate Mass and afterwards I get a chance to speak to each prisoner as they leave section by section.
‘They love things to take back to the cell – Bible Alive, Walk with Me, Catholic Today, rosaries and all sorts of other literature which is just something to cling to in what must be long days.
‘My visit to Birmingham HMP plays an important part of my Christmas Day and it’s a privilege to visit and I think it is appreciated by the prisoners. They go back to their cells tearful yet cheerful and to their Christmas Lunch, and I go away for mine!’
Prison Visiting on Christmas Day
On Christmas morning Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham will set out to visit HMP Birmingham where he has for many years celebrated Mass and met with prisoners after the service.
Bible Alive met up with Archbishop Vincent to talk about the special ministry of the Christmas Day prison visit.
Published in
Bible Alive Articles
Can't find a book?
Fill out our enquiry form to register interest in a particular Catholic/ Christian book.
Holy Cross Parcels
Make a difference by making a donation and buying a Holy Cross Parcel. Click here
Twitter and Facebook
Pope Francis Special Bumper Edition of Faith Today
Click here to read Joanna Moorhead's blog from the Conclave and the Inauguration
Free Faith Pack
FREE Faith Pack
worth over £30/€50!!
with every new subscription to
Bible Alive or Faith Today.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Faith Today Trial Subscription
Try out Faith Today for three months free of charge. Many began receiving Faith Today this way and have been with us for years.
Give it a go today!
Trial Bible Alive Subscription
Try out Bible Alive for three months free of charge. Many began receiving Bible Alive this way and have been with us for years.
Give it a go today!
Walk With Me
Walk with Me is a prayer and scripture journey for the seasons of Advent, Lent and Easter.
Alive Design – Wedding Stationery
Catholic Today Newspaper
Catholic Today is the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Birmingham with the latest Birmingham Catholic news and videocasts.
Christian Publications
Bible Alive - Subscription
Latest Catholic Articles
Daily Reflections
Bible Alive daily reflections are written in an accessible and warm style inviting you to penetrate and plumb the depths of the scripture reading of the day.
Latest Daily Bible ReflectionFree Catalogue
