CHICAGO (CBS) — Every year, inmates at the Cook County Jail enjoy a holiday mass and service. As service wrapped Wednesday afternoon, three were given the gift of freedom.
Every year, a select few detainees have a chance to attend a service that provides a message of hope and support. Inside Division 11 at the Cook County Jail, there’s joy and celebration. Over 100 low to medium-level detainees were met with holiday cheer and greetings as they filed in for Christmas mass.
“We have to let the city know that they are not forgotten, and we have to let them know they are not forgotten,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago.
For over a decade, Cardinal Cupich has led mass on Christmas day. This year’s message is one of hope.
“Their liberties are restricted and taken away, but their humanity should never be taken away, and that’s what I would hope that they would recapture here,” he said.
In closing, detainees were greeted by members of the clergy, filling their souls with the nourishment of holy communion. Through song and prayer, messages are shared in a different service held by the Rainbow Push Coalition.