The El Fondeadero Civic Center in Puerto del Carmen hosted this Thursday the book by the chaplain of the Navalcarnero prison, Francisco Javier Sánchez, 'Beatitudes from Prison'.
José Juan Cruz, mayor of the municipality, was in charge of presenting the event, who said when referring to Francisco Javier that he is "an old acquaintance in the municipality of Tías, where he arrived from Madrid around the year 1990 and where he immediately felt welcomed and loved." The mayor recalled that in the past San Pedro de Mácher festivities he had the honor of being the town crier and in one of the sections of his proclamation he highlighted: "It is as if there were a kind of union between the island and me: since I arrived in Lanzarote, something inside made me vibrate and unite with this land and these people."
Cruz Saavedra explained that within the festivities in honor of Our Lady of Carmen, Francisco Javier presents us with this book, which "not only has a direct message from Pope Francis, but also describes, through the 9 Beatitudes of Saint Matthew, his experiences in the Navalcarnero prison." Francisco Javier tells numerous experiences and activities that he carries out with the prisoners, such as doing the Camino de Santiago, he also talks about effort, illusion, joy and courage. The mayor concluded his presentation by thanking the priest for his dedication for more than 30 years to the committed priesthood and "for always having Lanzarote in your heart."
Along with the mayor and writer, the parish priest of Yaiza and Chaplain of the Lanzarote Prison, Jonathan Almeida, also shared the table, who congratulated Francisco Javier on the publication of his book, commenting that he is newly arrived and that "it is a mission to which many hours must be dedicated because each prisoner is a problem and thanks also to the volunteers of Penitentiary Pastoral the problems are being solved every day within their possibilities."
Francisco Javier Sánchez González took the floor explaining how the publication of the book had arisen, something "unthinkable" for him. Sánchez collects his experiences with the prisoners without giving them names or surnames. One of those that he highlighted had to do with Pope Francis, since the Pope was powerfully struck by a story with a prisoner who wanted to have a private conversation with him (a confession), and when he asked one of the officials if he could leave him a room, he offered him the only one available "the garbage room", an experience that overwhelmed the Pope.
In the two visits that Francisco Javier has had with the Pope, to whom he gave a copy where the presentation sent by the Pope is included, the priest was very happy, thanking the welcome received by the public that packed the social hall of the El Fondeadero Civic Center and for the interest in buying a copy. A collection that will be used to alleviate the needs of prisoners and their families. In addition, during the presentation two videos with messages from Pope Francis were shown.
The presentation ceremony ended with the magnificent musical performance carried out by the Quartet formed by José Vicente Pérez, Timple, Adrián Niz, Guitar and the powerful voices of Almudena Hernández and Ciro Corujo with the technical assistance of Ivanhoe Rodríguez, a performance highly applauded by the public.
About Francisco Javier Sánchez
Francisco Javier Sánchez González, parochial vicar in the parish of San José de Fuenlabrada, for five years and parish priest in the parish of the Sagrada Familia, of Fuenlabrada, for twenty years, pastoral work that he combined with the chaplaincy in the Navalcarnero prison since 2005 and as a volunteer collaborator with the Nuevo Versalles center for the mentally and physically disabled, in Fuenlabrada.
He has a bachelor's degree in Theology from Salamanca and a diploma in Social Work from the Complutense University of Madrid. He has had a relationship with the missions in Bolivia and El Salvador, in working with peasant communities and with the Latin American church. And he has been a Religion teacher in ESO at the Madrigal school, in Fuenlabrada, for five years, and at the Mercedarias Juan de Alarcón school, in Madrid, for four. He is currently assigned to the parish of Nuestra Señora de Belén, in Fuenlabrada, and belongs to the NGO Profesores Cooperantes.
