December 21, 2005
CARDINAL RIGALI TO MAKE CHRISTMAS VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA PRISON
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will visit Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) of the Philadelphia Prison System to celebrate Mass and spend time with inmates the day before Christmas Eve. CFCF is the largest of the Philadelphia Prison System facilities and serves as an intake center for adult men. The inmates of CFCF will participate in the liturgy by offering readings and singing. Media are welcome to cover the Mass and visit.
10:00 a.m. Mass
Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility Gymnasium
7901 State Road
Northeast Philadelphia,
After Cardinal Rigali greets the men of Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, he will visit with the women of Riverside Correctional Facility (RCF) on the same grounds (approximately 11:30 a.m.).
Cardinal Rigali first made a pastoral visit to the Philadelphia Prison System during Christmas 2003, shortly after he was installed as Archbishop of Philadelphia when he celebrated a liturgy for the inmates of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, at that time the intake center for all women who are sent to jail in Philadelphia. That function was assumed by the Riverside Correctional Facility when it opened in 2004. Last Christmas, Cardinal Rigali visited the State Correctional Institution at Graterford in Montgomery County, where he celebrated Mass and visited with the men on death row.
Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility is the administrative center and largest of the Philadelphia Prison System facilities. It opened in 1995 and houses approximately 2,400 men; 260 of whom identify themselves as Catholic. CFCF serves as a 24 hour intake center for adult males, most of whom are awaiting trial.
Editor's Note: Media planning to cover are kindly asked to contact Mr. Bob Eskind, Public Information Officer for the Philadelphia Prison System at 215-685-7888. Not all inmates wish to be on camera. Prison staff will seat inmates who agree to be on camera in a designated area.
Contact
Donna M. Farrell
Director of Communications
215-587-3747