On the feast of the Nativity of Lord, the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy carried out several actions dedicated to people deprived of liberty. In this context, Father Vasile Ștefan Bobița tells how a Romanian convict, who is serving his sentence in the Viterbo prison, turned to God.

Text republished from the official website of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy:

A True Christmas Story

It was in 2009, after many attempts, that I managed to enter, as a volunteer priest, in the Viterbo prison. Among the many souls tormented by lack of freedom and a burdened conscience, I meet Nelu, who left me feeling disarmed when I saw him. He was like a caged lion, tearing apart anyone who came near him: an irredeemable, rebellious spirit who did nothing but cause disorder around him.

What a difficult beginning! It added to the discouragement I got from the prison agents, who reprimanded me for coming to visit evil people who did not deserve pity. Now I started to believe them. How could I save face in this war which pitted prisoners against guardians and all of them against me? I represented, in a way, the society that condemned these convicts to live deprived of freedom and rights for a long time.

We begin to pray. I encourage them to read Psalm 3 together, then Psalm 5, Psalm 8, Psalm 37, 62, 87, 102, 142. With thick and ominous voices, slowly but surely, grace descends upon us. Putting aside fear and hardening, we agree to meet next week.

Years pass, during which every week we meet and distrust slowly disappears. We acquire the spirit of gentleness, we pray with all our heart. Often, Nelu comes sooner than the others, seeking clarifications: Hhow to pray? How are prostrations made? How to fast? He had a lot of questions about the prayer books he always carried with him, he wanted to do everything as well as possible, he was a perfectionist.

He became a kind of leader, he encouraged others to come to prayer, to fast, he helped them with what they needed, he was happy for every soul who came close to God. He helped me enormously, because he had a great influence on others, which he used for goodness.

Four years before his release, we managed to get permission to bring him to church every Sunday. Even today, after a long time, people in the parish remember how Nelu used to read the psalms during the Matins service.

You couldn’t help but be attentive to every word he integrally uttered, round and resolute. Every time it was as if it was the first and last Divine Liturgy he attended. His enthusiasm never waned.

He would come riding his bike. Regardless of the weather outside, the 12 kilometres from Viterbo Prison to our church meant nothing to him. One winter it snowed. Before people came to the liturgy, he cleared all the snow in front of the church with a smile on his face.

I remember his confessions, honest and without detours. He would say: “Father, I want to learn”. There was a thirst for God and, at the same time, a sincere desire to turn away from the past and the people who were tempting him to return to the life he had before.

In December 2019 came the day of his release, which of course didn’t mean the problems were solved. On the contrary, I was nervous. Would he manage to keep out of trouble? Would he keep his faith and convictions?

For a while I didn’t know anything, I prayed for him, as I did for those who were still imprisoned. A few months later, we heard from him: he was on a pilgrimage to the monasteries in Romania.

Later, when he told me what he saw, he showed the same sincere joy as I would see when he used to came to the church in the prison. He told me about elders Arsenie Boca and Ilie Cleopa, for whom nothing material mattered – neither power, nor money.

Every single Sunday since then, he sends me a message with good wishes very early in the morning. He is in Germany now with his family, working honestly and even has a few employees.

Nelu even came to meet Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius of Bogdania and me on December 27, 2023, when, together with some volunteers from the parish, we visited the Viterbo prison to bring the message of joy and hope conveyed by the Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

This time, he visited the prison while being completely free…

Fr Bobița Vasile Ștefan

“Holy Hierarch Calinic of Cernica” – Viterbo Parish, Italy

Photo credit: Wirestock on Freepik