Browse past isues
Help the mission
Support the mission
Get in touch
Father Francisco de Medeiros, known as Fr. Chico, has been working in South Africa for 15 years – in different places with varied challenges. At the beginning of this year, he leapt from an urban Babel of languages, cultures and religions to a rural mission bordering the jungle. A sort of an SOS missionary, he is always ready to be called at any time for any emergency.
The Philippine prison system is described in a recent book as a living hell, more in tune with the 19th century than the modern age. Due to overcrowding, many inmates sleep standing up; the toilets run like rivers; disease and death are the only way to “rehabilitation.”
In prison… in South Africa? No, I was not charged of any crime! When the scholasticate was looking for new forms of ministry at the beginning of 2006, one of the proposals was to start a prison ministry in Pietermaritzburg. I readily volunteered because of my previous experience in the New Bilibid Prison in the Philippines. And I must confess: being in prison has enriched my understanding of being a Christian.
