Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney offered inmates who feel lonely in jail and isolated from society the hope of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, during his April 16 visit to the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morristown, where he celebrated a Holy Thursday Mass.
The beige uniforms of the male inmates starkly contrasted with the red and white vestments of the Bishop Sweeney and concelebrating priests.
Bishop Sweeney visited the county jail to celebrate the 10 a.m. Mass in one of the facility’s housing pods. Attending were 27 male inmates, jail administrators, and staff, including Morris County Sheriff James Gannon. As part of the Holy Thursday Mass, the bishop washed the feet of five inmates to symbolize the service and charity of Christ, who came “not to be served, but to serve.”
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Concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Sweeney were two priests who serve at the jail: Father Owen Moran, pastor of St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison, and Father Alex Nevitt, administrator of St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson. Deacon Peter DePrima of St. James Parish in Basking Ridge, assisted with the liturgy. Another ministry team, Father Philip-Michael Tangorra, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Branchville, could not attend the Mass.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney told lonely or isolated inmates that they are not alone with Jesus. He knew the feeling of loneliness in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. Holy Week ends not with Jesus’ death on Good Friday but with Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday, the bishop said, as Father Nevitt remembered.
Father Moran, Father Nevitt, and Father Tangorra take turns celebrating weekly Mass in the jail and provide opportunities for confession. Bible study is available for male inmates. The priests are chaplains of the Order of Malta, which sponsors the ministry to the jail.
