Christmas behind bars: Bishop Olson visits federal penitentiary on Christmas Eve
From left, Jeff Wilson, Bishop Michael Olson, Phil Luebbehusen, seminarians Trent Barton and Paul Trinh, and Reyna Castelán stand outside Federal Medical Center Fort Worth on December 24, 2024. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
FORT WORTH — Some of our most strongly held traditions happen on Christmas Eve — a vigil or midnight Mass, cookies for Santa, stockings hung by the chimney, and a beloved story or movie — all cozy rituals steeped in family togetherness.
Since his installation as bishop of Fort Worth in 2014, Bishop Michael Olson’s Christmas Eve tradition has included celebrating Mass at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth (FMC-FW), a federal prison for about 1,500 male inmates with special medical and mental health needs.
The bishop also visits FMC-FW on Ash Wednesday.
On Dec. 24, Bishop Olson celebrated Christmas Eve Mass with about 30 inmates at the prison. This year, the bishop was joined by seminarians Trent Barton and Paul Trinh and three laypeople who regularly serve in prison ministry: Phil Luebbehusen, Jeff Wilson, and Reyna Castelán.
As Barton made his first Christmas Eve prison visit, he reflected that although many consider prisoners to be “different than us, they’re still children created in the image and likeness of God, and they have liturgical and sacramental needs just like the rest of us.”
Although he had looked forward to Christmas Eve Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Arlington, where he is serving his pastoral year, Barton was grateful for the experience. “It’s a reminder. … We have to go to those who aren’t able to or have circumstances that prevent them. The Church goes to them.”
The Mass was beautiful in its simplicity, added the seminarian. Unlike a parish Christmas Mass with the faithful wearing their finest clothes and the music ministry performing at its peak, the inmates were attired in prison garb and followed Bishop Olson’s lead in a capella renditions of “Silent Night,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and “Joy to the World.”
Barton noticed the inmates knew the liturgy well, setting up for Mass, participating in Mass responses, and reading the Prayers of the Faithful and the first reading.
Luebbehusen made his first Christmas Eve visit to the prison, although he is part of a ministry team that celebrates Mass at FMC-FW each Sunday.
He said the inmates are grateful for the visits, especially because this facility houses prisoners from across the country, making it difficult for most families and friends to visit the men.
Luebbehusen, a parishioner at Good Shepherd Church in Colleyville, first volunteered for the ministry for six years ago and continues because “it’s very rewarding and very appreciated by the recipients.”
In his homily, Bishop Olson reminded the men, “Christ comes to us to save us; He comes to us as the tiny Infant in Bethlehem, He comes to us in the Bread and Wine that we offer and consecrate and that we receive in Holy Communion. May His coming bring each of us peace and joy.”
Barton echoed the bishop’s message. He said, “I hope [the inmates received] a sense of hope that Christ came into the world in human form to free us from sin and death. There’s redemption for all of us out there; there’s hope for all of us out there.”
From left, seminarian Trent Barton, Bishop Michael Olson, and seminarian Paul Trinh prepare to enter Federal Medical Center Fort Worth on December 24, 2024. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)