Posted by Samuel on Thu 26th Dec, 2024 - tori.ng
While arriving in a wheelchair, Pope Francis paused for a moment of silence before rising with the help of a walking stick.
The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis, while marking the Holy Year of the Catholic Church on Thursday, opened the symbolic Holy Door at a prison in Rome, offering a message of hope and forgiveness to inmates.
The 88-year-old Catholic pontiff told the prisoners during the ceremony not to lose hope.
The opening of a Holy Door in a prison is a symbolic gesture, which the pope is known for advocating for the forgiveness of convicted criminals and their reintegration into society.
While arriving in a wheelchair, Pope Francis paused for a moment of silence before rising with the help of a walking stick.
The pontiff approached the prison gate, knocked several times and helpers raised it from the inside.
He then crossed the threshold of the massive doorway, symbolising the passage into grace and reconciliation.
In spite of appearing fatigued in recent public appearances, it was gathered that the pope seemed at ease during the prison visit, speaking informally and without prepared remarks to inmates and staff.
After the service, he engaged personally with several attendees.
The event followed his opening of the Holy Year 2025 on Christmas Eve by ceremonially unsealing the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica.
The Catholic Church celebrates a jubilee every 25 years, during which believers who pass through the Holy Doors after penance and communion are granted indulgences or remission of sins.
This marks the first time in the Church’s history that a Holy Door had been opened in a prison, according to the news portal Vatican News.