The WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation and the General Directorate of Reintegration and Prison Services (DGRSP) have signed a collaboration protocol.
With the objective of involving the inmate population in the preparation of WYD Lisbon 2023, as well as to promote the social reintegration – after release – of inmates serving time in the prisons of Coimbra, Paços de Ferreira and Porto, this protocol provides for the construction of 150 confessionals, which will be placed in the Park of Forgiveness.
Integrated with the City of Joy, the Park of Forgiveness will be a space for individual and community reconciliation. The signing of the protocol was attended by the president of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, D. Américo Aguiar, the Director-General of the DGRSP, Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves, as well as the Assistant Secretary of State and of Justice, Jorge Alves Costa. The prison directors of Coimbra, Paços de Ferreira and Porto also attended this meeting.
For D. Américo Aguiar, president of the WYD Lisbon 2023 Foundation, this is a “very symbolic gesture” that will certainly make a difference for those who live the sacrament of Reconciliation. “For those who live the sacrament of Reconciliation, it has a very special meaning that these pieces have the hands and hearts of men who are limited in their freedom,” stressed D. Américo Aguiar.
For the director of DGRSP, Rui Abrunhosa Gonçalves, this is a “commendable” initiative, since, as he says, “one of the main strategies of prison treatment is providing work”.
The confessionals
Inspired by an open house, the confessionals will be a reference to a very typical type of house in Portugal: white and with a yellow strip. With minimalist aesthetics, structure and materials used, the confessionals were designed by volunteers and will allow the pilgrim to be listened to in a very close and personal way.
In each confessional there will be a priest available to welcome and listen to the young people, inviting them to make the sacrament of Reconciliation. Confessions will be made in different languages.
Photos: WYD Lisbon 2023
