CHARLOTTE — Carrying rosaries and candles in their hands, a large group of Hispanic Catholics from local parishes and lay groups held a prayer vigil outside the Mecklenburg County Jail Dec. 10.
Fátima González, the first Latina chaplain with the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office, said the prayer vigil is part of the Faith and Blue campaign, an initiative launched Oct. 10 to strengthen connections between law enforcement professionals and the communities they serve through communion in prayer.
Also, thanks to churches’ donations, they have been delivering backpacks with personal items to help inmates when they leave jail after serving their sentence.
Gloria Polanco, a Catholic volunteer with the Spanish Bible Studies group that had been active at the county jail until their work was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, said the prayer event was organized through social media and phone calls.
Father Leo Tiburcio, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte, led the prayer vigil.
— César Hurtado | Catholic News Herald