Singing bars behind bars
Inmates lift their voices in praise. (Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald)FOREST CITY — The quaint white chapel has wooden pews, hymnals, an altar – everything a typical little church would have, except it’s surrounded by a barbed wire fence, has cinderblock walls and its parishioners are inmates of the Rutherford Correctional Institution in Spindale.
At 87, Deacon Andy Cilone is the last active deacon from the first class of deacons ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte in 1983. Although he retired over 10 years ago, he stays busy assisting Father Herbert Burke at Immaculate Conception Parish on weekends, bringing Holy Communion to the sick, singing at local nursing homes, and bringing his voice and hope to prisoners like those here.
Deacon Cilone knows the Rutherford facility well. He has been in and out of the prison that houses 236 for the past 30 years. Deacon John Gallen, another 1983 deacon graduate, initially invited him to come to prison. He has yet to stay out.
“Jesus said, ‘When I was in prison, you visited me,’ ” he explains. “That’s why I do this – to visit Jesus.”
John the Baptist, St. John, St. Peter, St. Silas, St. Paul and, of course, Jesus – all were prisoners. They were, in a way, present in the pews alongside the 10 or so inmates in the chapel for Deacon Cilone’s concert. Watch him sing here.
Deacon Andy Cilone, 87, has been bringing his voice to inmates of the Rutherford Correctional Institution in Spindale and two other jails.
Raising voices in praise
These men are part of the prison choir, geared up with keyboard, guitar and voices fully prepared to praise the Lord along with Deacon Cilone. Some of the inmates had sung in a choir since high school or can remember singing in church as children, but most came to it recently. Like the keyboardist who has been steadily learning since his incarceration date.
Deacon Cilone brought his set list of Catholic hymns, oldies but goodies, and some classic Italian songs. The inmates had their own set of contemporary spiritual songs planned.
He weaved songs with spiritual teaching, constantly referring to the Bible. Each time he mentioned a verse, pages quickly flipped – Psalm 96 for “Sing to the Lord a New Song” and then to
Psalm 91 for “On Eagle’s Wings.” As he shared words of inspiration and hope, he received a resounding “Amen” or an echoing “Alleluia.”
The incarcerated men raised their tattooed arms and joined Deacon Cilone in harmony singing a jailhouse version of “Amazing Grace.” After he sang “Ave Maria” in Latin, he saw the faces stare back at him. “That song always brings people to tears,” he smiles.
But that day the surprise was on Deacon Cilone as the inmates paired up and sang their own song with the repeated chorus, “I’m never going back.”
Side by side, they sang their promise to God and to one another, while Deacon Cilone rested his lungs and enjoyed the raw spirituality of the moment.
Inspired to assist
Deacon Cilone didn’t always bring his vocals to prison with him. He was inspired after watching an EWTN program about a musician who sang in prisons. Performing at a prison altar was not something he was used to, but he was a singer, a deacon and in the prison ministry, so it made sense, he says. “I thought, well, I can try something like that.”
Today, he serves more than one prison. He brings rosaries and sings hymns mixed with Scripture on an on-call basis at the Rutherford County Jail and twice a month at the Marion Correctional Institute. Nowadays, he gets tired more easily and is seeking helpers for the ministry.
Joining the prison ministry is a bit of an involved process. Volunteers fill out an application, pass a background check, then go through training and a probationary period before getting issued a “blue card” permitting them to serve. Each prison issues its own blue card.
“Two men are in the process of getting their blue card at Rutherford and one is getting theirs for the Marion facility,” Deacon Cilone says excitedly, as he is now the only Catholic serving those two prisons.
Rutherford Correctional Institution is a minimum-security prison, with prisoners set for release soon. To acclimate them to “life on the outside,” prison volunteers sometimes apply for a “salmon card” (allowing them to take prisoners outside the walls). Deacon Cilone uses his to help prisoners receive the sacraments and get in the habit of going to Mass before their eventual release.
“I pick them up at 4 o’clock, take them to confession and Mass at 5 o’clock. Then we go out to eat,” Deacon Cilone says.
The inmates open up to him about their life, their future, their goals and aspirations – the new person they hope to become when they get out. It is not uncommon for ex-convicts to regularly call or write to him and report their triumphs.
“There are some success stories, some are doing great, but some inevitably go back into the system,” he says.
The good stories may not outweigh the bad, but hearing them still moves Deacon Cilone in his later years to continue to act.
“There are a lot of things you can do to help people, and the prison ministry is one of the ones I was fortunate to get involved in,” he says. “We are always looking for more volunteers.”
— Lisa Geraci
Learn more
Find out about the diocese’s Prison Ministry at www.charlottediocese.org/offices/prison-ministry.
Interested in getting involved? Email Interim Prison Ministry Coordinator David Coe at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..