Pope brings Holy Year and prayers for better future to Rome prison, a ‘cathedral of pain and hope’

ROME — 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. “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.” Francis dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to hope and made clear that prisoners would be an important part of it: The final grand event of the Jubilee is a special Mass for inmates at St. Peter’s on Dec. 14, 2025. “One of the things that characterizes Jubilees is the remission of debts,” Francis said, calling the debts owed by many poor countries simply “unsustainable.” Francis’ outing to Rebibbia on a frigid morning was his final big event of the week after he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Tuesday evening at St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered his Christmas Day blessing from the loggia overlooking the square.