Pope brings Holy Year and prayers for better future to Rome prison, a 'cathedral of pain and hope'
Pope Francis is bringing his Holy Year to Rome’s main prison
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church’s once every quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million pilgrims to Rome.
Francis stood up from his wheelchair, knocked on the door to the chapel at Rebibbia prison and walked across the threshold, reenacting the gesture he performed at the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica two nights earlier on Christmas Eve.
The opening of the Holy Door at the basilica officially kicked off the Jubilee year, a church tradition dating to 1300 that nowadays occurs every 25 years and involves the faithful coming to Rome on pilgrimages.
"The first Holy Door I opened at Christmas in St. Peter's. I wanted the second one to be here, in a prison," Francis told the Rebibbia inmates before he entered. “I wanted each of us here, inside and out, to have the possibility of throwing open the door of our hearts and understanding that hope doesn't disappoint.”
