For the 2025 Jubilee His Holiness Pope Francis will open a Holy Door in Rome’s Rebibbia Prison

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On December 26, 2024, the feast of St Stephen, His Holiness Pope Francis will open a Holy Door in the Roman prison of Rebibbia, marking a historic moment in the history of Jubilee years. It will be the first time that - in addition to the Holy Doors opened in the four Roman Papal Basilicas - one will also be opened in a penal institution too. The announcement was made by the Pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, during a press conference on October 28. The Pro-prefect emphasized that Rebibbia, on December 26, should be seen as "a symbol of all the prisons in the world".

The extraordinary gesture was something the Holy Father was very keen to make, and underlines the importance and space given to caring for prisoners and their social reintegration in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, Spes non Confundit. “During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind. I think of prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect for their persons. I propose that in this Jubilee Year governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programs of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law,” wrote Pope Francis. And he added: “In order to offer prisoners a concrete sign of closeness, I would myself like to open a Holy Door in a prison, as a sign inviting prisoners to look to the future with hope and a renewed sense of confidence”…

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