Francis plans to go there September 27 to meet with about 100 inmates and some of their relatives during a two-day trip to the city.
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The chair was made and refinished at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, one of six jails in the municipal system.
Inmate Evan Davis works on a chair carved out of walnut for Pope Francis to use during his planned visit to the prison next month, Monday, August 24, 2015, at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia.
An inmate finishes the coat of arms for Pope Francis, which will be affixed to the chair being made by prisoners and staff of Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia.
Rameen Perrin, who said he’s spent 13 months behind bars on drug charges, said it meant a lot to be chosen for the papal project. Francis has placed a heavy focus on prison ministry, visiting inmates regularly and having washed prisoners feet during Holy Week.
The chair was developed through PhilaCor, a program that has ten industry shops throughout Philadelphia prisons and attempts to train inmates with real work experience to ready them for life post-release.
The pontiff is scheduled to visit Philadelphia September 26 and 27 at the end of the weeklong World Meeting of Families, an event established by former Pope John Paul II in 1994 to occur every three years in a different country in an effort to strengthen the family unit.
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“Prisons are where you can find people a lot of times at their lowest point and the Pope to me, he’s looking for hope”, Bryant said. His public events include a speech at Independence Hall, a family festival and an outdoor Mass.
