Pope Francis opens holy gate in the Roman prison Rebibbia

Pope Francis opens holy gate in the Roman prison Rebibbia

Rebibbia, Rom, Italien - On the second Christmas day 2024, Pope Francis visited the Rebibbia prison near Rome to open a significant "holy gate". This event is classified by the Vatican as historically because it represents the first opening of such a gate in a prison. In his speech before hundreds of inmates, the Pope emphasized how important it is to preserve hope: "In difficult times ... does not lose hope. That is the message I wanted to give you." This ceremony is part of the upcoming Holy Year 2025, which is under the motto "pilgrim of hope" and in which a total of five such gates are opened. The first of these solemn openings took place on Christmas Eve in St. Peter's Basilica, as reported.

The goal of this initiative is to send a message of hope to all prisoners worldwide. Both male and female inmates and members of the prison police took part in the ceremony in the “Lord's Prison” of the prison. Pope Francis passed the gate independently, which represents a strong symbol of the power of hope: "Hope never disappointed, never," said the Pope. This holy year, which is traditionally celebrated every 25 years and ends on January 6, 2026, expects more than 30 million visitors to Rome, such as Domradio.de . During his tenure, the Pope always campaigned for the interests of prisoners and made their difficult living conditions into public awareness.