Vatican News / X
CV NEWS FEED // In keeping with his Holy Thursday tradition, Pope Francis visited the inmates of Rome’s Regina Coeli prison today to minister to them and offer his encouragement and support ahead of the Easter season.
Vatican News reported that the Pope would normally celebrate the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper and wash the feet of the inmates during his visit but was unable to do more than converse with the inmates this year.
“I have always liked coming to prison on Holy Thursday to do the washing of the feet like Jesus,” he told the inmates, according to Vatican News. “This year, I cannot do it, but I want to be close to you. I pray for you and your families.”
Pope Francis spent the visit speaking personally with the inmates and giving each a Rosary and pocket-sized copy of the Gospel. According to Vatican News, several of the inmates were moved by the pope’s visit. One man handed Pope Francis a handwritten note that, translated, reads: “May the light of the Lord illuminate my life and that of my family. Thank you, Pope, for your presence.”
Pope Francis visited Rebibbia, Rome’s other prison, in December 2024 to open a Holy Door for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. Vatican News reported that several of the inmates at Regina Coeli remembered writing to the Pope at that time and asking him to visit them as well.
“We prayed, and he really came,” one inmate reportedly said.
Upon leaving the prison, Pope Francis reflected on the visit in an interview, saying, “Every time I enter a place like this, I ask myself, ‘Why them and not me?’”
In response to a question about his Easter plans, he said he will celebrate “as I can.”
