Pope Leo XIV. on Sunday, he criticized prison overcrowding and insufficient prisoner re-socialization programs, celebrating a special Mass for prisoners, guards and their families as part of the closing event of the 2025 Holy Year at the Vatican. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AP news agency.
- Pope Leo XIV. criticized the overcrowding of prisons during mass for prisoners.
- Around 6,000 people attended the event in the Vatican.
- The Pope called for compassion and forgiveness towards the prisoners.
- The Mass closed the Holy Year 2025 focused on helping the marginalized.
- Italy’s prisons are 135 percent overcrowded, which calls for a solution.
The Vatican said around 6,000 people had signed up for the weekend pilgrimage, including representatives of Italy’s major prisons. as well as volunteers, guards and prison chaplains from 90 countries. Several groups of prisoners who received special permission to participate were also present at the event. In his sermon, the Pope acknowledged that prisoners in richer countries are often exposed to poor conditions. At the same time, he called for showing compassion for prisoners and striving for forgiveness.
As the last major event of the jubilee year 2025, the Mass in many ways closed the Holy Year, which the late Pope Francis solemnly opened on Christmas Eve 2024 and which the main message was to spread hope especially among people on the margins of society.
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis prioritized the pastoral care of prisoners to give them hope for a better future. Last December 26, he visited the Roman prison of Rebibbia, where he opened its Holy Gate and involved the prisoners in the celebrations of the jubilee year.
In Italy, prison overcrowding is a long-term problem that has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and humanitarian organizations. Italy’s prisons are currently 135 percent overcrowded, with more than 63,000 people held in facilities with fewer than 47,000 beds. The Sunday mass was the last big event of the jubilee year 2025, which Leo XIV. officially closes on January 6, when it closes the Holy Gate of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican.
