Dear Loyola Community,
The theme for this Loyola Week is the Ignatian concept of cura personalis, Latin for “care for the whole person.” On the surface, this seems easy. However, when you consider my experience of incarceration for 35 years on a life sentence without the possibility of release for the remainder of your life, everything is more complicated.
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the U.S., and I can tell you that Louisiana prisons are not ideal places to live. Grief and dehumanization are ever-present realities. I grieved the passing of many loved ones and good friends while in prison. I remember enduring strip searches – being instructed to bend forward, squat and cough. I had no privacy while showering or using the restroom. Nothing separated me from the next person while they were using it too. Sights and smells could not be avoided. The prison world fosters isolation and alienation. Self-love and care are not encouraged. Imagine enduring such inhumane practices over three and one-half decades. What would self-care look like?
Whenever I think about the past, I walk back into it, living and breathing it in real time now. Even though I won my release this year, insomnia has become my reality.
Yet, I’m learning how to practice self-care. I pray and depend upon God for his love and undeserved kindness. I enjoy the simple things in life, watching the sunrise and sunset, making my own decisions. I have a stable place to live. I have control of my own environment. I can have total silence if I choose.
In closing, I want to let you know that I also pray for you members of the Loyola community, that you too might recognize your own human dignity and offer yourself cura personalis when you need it.
Patrick Govan
Research Coordinator
Jesuit Social Research Institute
