Inmates At Curran-Fromhold Make Special Gift For Pope Francis
By KYW Community Affairs reporter Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility will host Pope Francis during the World Meeting of Families in September, and the inmates at the prison are preparing a special gift for the Holy Father.
When Pope Francis meets with inmates at Curran-Fromhold on the second day of his trip to Philadelphia, he'll be greeted with a seat fit for a king.
"It's something that you would see in a special service," says Shawn Hawes, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Prison System.
She says some of the inmates are enrolled in vocation programs where they make and upholster furniture. Usually, the prison sells it to city agencies.
Hawes says examples exist in the Mayor's office and on other city property, including the prison. But they gifted a refurbished Presider chair, with a tall back, ornate wood, and green fabric, to Archbishop Charles Chaput during his visit to the prison in January. Now they hope to build a new one for the Holy Father.
"The Archbishop loved the chair and mentioned it to the commissioner, who said we'd be happy to do it for the Pope," says Hawes. "So when we discovered that the Pope was coming here, we decided we'd make the chair for him as well."
Hawes says the final approvals to make the chair were given last week, but the design has not yet been finalized. She says the goal will be to make the chair from the raw materials.
"It is the work of their own hands, the gift they'll give to the Holy Father. It's great," says Ken Gavin, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He says empathy for those incarcerated is a hallmark of the Pope's ministry and he'll be grateful for the gift.
There's no word yet on when construction of the chair will begin.
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