Bilibid inmate offers wood burning portrait to Pope Francis

Fr. Anton Pascual presents a wood burning portrait of Pope Francis created by an inmate of the New Bilibid Prison. Photo by Kristine Angeli Sabillo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–As a gift to Pope Francis when he visits the Philippines, an inmate at the maximum security compound of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) sent a portrait of the pontiff made from burnt plywood.

The piece of art was created by Ariel Cabiluna and presented to the media by Fr. Anton Pascual on Monday during a press briefing on the papal visit.

Pascual said Cabiluna is one of the inmates participating in Caritas Manila’s livelihood project.

He said similar artworks are often sold outside the penitentiary to help the inmates earn money for their basic necessities.

“They said they cannot leave the prison to see the pope. But they’ll be happy if the pope takes a picture with the portrait,” Pascual said.

The priest said they will try to present it to Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines or send it directly to Rome.

“This was not commissioned. It was created out of the goodness of their hearts,” he said.

Pascual said it took Cabiluna two weeks to finish the portrait, which was created through pyrography or the art of wood burning. He based it only on a photocopy of Pope Francis’ image.

The painting, which bore Cabiluna’s identification number inside the NBP and the date of completion (December 12, 2014), has a smaller version that is being kept by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

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