Pope Opens Holy Door to Launch 2025 Jubilee

For the first time in this long-standing Jubilee tradition dating back to the 15th century, the Pope will also open a fifth sacred portal in a Roman prison, as a symbolic sign “inviting all prisoners to look to the future with hope and a renewed sense of confidence.”

The unprecedented rite will take place on December 26, the feast of St. Stephen, in the Rebibbia New Complex Prison, which he already visited in 2015 for the Easter ritual of the Washing of the Feet. He also visited the women's section of the prison on Holy Thursday this year.

This time the Pope will come as a “Pilgrim of Hope,” a sentiment that is all too fragile in prison and must be nurtured with love and dedication, with the help of staff and chaplains, especially given the limited number of visits inmates receive from their loved ones.

“Prisoners are waiting for the Pope with joy because they feel his closeness, just as they perceive their own separation and distance from society,” explains Father Lucio Boldrin, Rebibbia’s chaplain. “We all need to commit to ‘extending’ the spirit of the Pope’s visit throughout the Holy Year,” he told Vatican News ahead of the visit.

This is not the first time Pope Francis testifies his closeness to inmates through a comforting and prayerful presence.

Throughout his pontificate he has shown a deep and consistent concern for detainees, emphasizing the need for compassion and respect for their dignity and challenging society to view prisoners not as outcasts but as individuals capable of transformation.

This stance is deeply rooted in Catholic social teaching which underscores mercy, redemption, and the importance of seeing every person as a child of God.

“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.” - Pope Francis.