He papa Francisco opened this Thursday a Holy Dooron the occasion of jubilee which is celebrated every 25 years, in Rebibbia prison, Romea symbolic gesture to bring hope to all imprisoned people.
This door is added to the four traditional Holy Doors – that of the Basilica of Saint Peter and the Roman ones of Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Saint Mary Major – which pilgrims can cross during the Holy Year to obtain the indulgencethe forgiveness of sins.
“I wanted the second Holy Door to be here, in a prison. “I wanted each of us, who are here inside and outside, to have the opportunity to open wide the doors of our hearts and understand that hope does not disappoint,” said the Pope before crossing the Holy Door and entering the the prison chapel where mass was celebrated.
Like last December 24, Francisco knocked on the door with his fist and it openedy He crossed it on foot, helped with a cane.and not in a wheelchair, as in St. Peter’s Basilica, accompanied by the auxiliary bishop of Rome, Benoni Ambarus.
About three hundred inmates and prison police personnel were present at the celebration inside the chapel.
In his homily, Francis explained that “The grace of a Jubilee is to open hearts wide to hope” and added that “hope never disappoints“, and asked those present that despite the difficult moments “never lose hope”.
He also asked everyone to always open the doors, “especially the door of the heart” why “When closed it becomes hard as a stone. Forgets about tenderness even in the most difficult situations”.
“I wish you a great Jubilee, I wish you so much peace. Every day I pray for you, truly. “I think of you and I pray for you,” he told the prisoners.
The first ordinary Holy Year of Pope Francis – although he already instituted an extraordinary one in 2016 dedicated to mercy – began with this act and will close on January 6, 2026.
The other Holy Doors of Rome will open on December 29 in Saint John Lateran; on January 1 in Santa María la Mayor and on Sunday, January 5, 2025 in San Pablo Outside the Walls without the presence of the Pope.
In the Catholic tradition, The Jubilee or ‘Holy Year’ is a time dedicated “to consolidating faith and solidarity”during which the Church grants indulgences or forgiveness of sins to all those who do works of charity and pass through some of the Holy Doors: in Saint Peter’s or in the other Roman basilicas.
This Wednesday, on Christmas Day, Francis launched a call for peace in the worldasking “overcome divisions” and “silence the weapons”, during Christmas celebrations overshadowed by conflict and humanitarian crises, particularly in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan.
As every year in its traditional message “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world), with transmission to the entire world, The Argentine pontiff reviewed the main conflicts and sources of tension in both hemispheres.
The Pope asked that “silence the weapons in the martyred Ukraine” and urged “dialogue gestures” in view of “a just and lasting peace”, hours after Russia launched more than 70 missiles against the Ukrainian energy grid on Christmas Day.
Before thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Jorge Bergoglio, 88, once again denounced the “very serious” humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages who remain in the hands of Hamas.
On Tuesday night, during Christmas mass, he had already asked for a thought for “thethe children machine-gunned”, las “bombs on schools or hospitals“, alluding to Israel’s bombings in Gaza, whose “cruelty” he denounced this week, provoking protests from Israeli diplomacy.
The Pope also urged to facilitate humanitarian aid in Sudana country ravaged by 20 months of war, where famine affecting millions of displaced people could spread, according to the UN.
(With information from EFE)
