Pope Francis made a private visit to inmates at Rome’s Regina Coeli prison on Holy Thursday, spending about 30 minutes with roughly 70 prisoners gathered in the facility’s central rotunda.
Seated in a wheelchair and without an oxygen cannula, the 88-year-old pontiff greeted the inmates with the words, “I am close to you.” The visit was met with applause, cheers and emotional outbursts. Some inmates called out, “Pope, freedom!” and kissed his hands as he moved among them.
Francis left the prison in a white Fiat 500, briefly lowering the window to acknowledge greetings from reporters. When asked how he planned to spend Easter, he replied faintly, “As I can.”
This was the Pope’s second visit to Regina Coeli, located just across the Tiber River from Vatican City. He last visited the facility on March 29, 2018, when he celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper there.
The Argentine pontiff has long made prison ministry a focus of his papacy. His outreach to incarcerated individuals has included multiple visits to detention centers and an unprecedented move last December, when he opened a Holy Door for the Jubilee Year at Rebibbia prison on Rome’s outskirts.
Francis also chose Rebibbia as the site for last year’s Washing of the Feet liturgy, held on Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024. The rite was celebrated with around 200 female inmates from the women’s section of the prison—a tradition that was suspended this year due to the Pope’s health.
Thursday’s visit was one of the first public appearances by the Pope since his recent hospitalization for pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic. It remains unclear which Easter-related events he may attend in person in the coming days.
On Saturday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance is expected to meet in Rome with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. A meeting with Pope Francis is not currently on the agenda.
