Pope Francis begins his pastoral visit to Venice at the Giudecca Women’s Prison, where he tells female inmates that he very much wanted to meet them to tell them they hold a special place in his heart.
By Thaddeus Jones
Pope Francis arrived in Venice via helicopter from the Vatican early on Sunday, 28 April, making the first stop of his pastoral visit to a women’s penitentiary institution, the Venice Giudecca Women’s Prison.
The Pope greeted over 80 of the inmates, as well as the prison staff, security, and volunteers. He listened attentively to all of them as they thanked him for his visit and his concern for them.
Special place in his heart
In his address, Pope Francis explained how he made this visit with them the first event on his visit to Venice, wishing to assure them that they hold a “special place” in his heart.
He explained that this is not so much to be experienced as an “official visit” more than a special encounter together where “thanks be to God, we can give each other time, prayer, closeness and fraternal affection,” allowing for precious mutual enrichment.
He added that God knows each one of us and that here today we each have something unique to give and receive, something that benefits us all. “Each of us has our own uniqueness, we have a gift and this is to offer it, to share it.”
The Lord brings us together
The Pope said it is the Lord who brings us together, and while the paths from which we have come vary, “some are very painful,” also due to mistakes that have led to wounds and scars each carries within.
He acknowledged the “harsh reality” of prison also due to overcrowding, the lack of facilities and resources, and incidents of violence that add to the suffering reality.
At the same time, he noted that prison can also offer a time for moral and material rebirth where the dignity of women and men is not left in isolation, but “promoted through mutual respect and the nurturing of talents and abilities” that are there in each person, although perhaps “dormant” or “isolated” by life’s challenges, but that “can re-emerge for the good of all” with due attention and faith. He added that “no one can take away a person’s dignity, no one!”
New beginnings
Despite it all, prison time can allow for new beginnings through the “rediscovery of the undiscovered beauty in us and in others,” the Pope said, “as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute.”
Prison can become the worksite for rebuilding lives, the Pope went on to say, by thinking about one’s life and, with courage, doing away what is not needed, harmful, or dangerous. By planning, one can start again, creating a new foundation, and in light of experience, rebuild brick by brick with determination, he said.
The Pope underscored how important it is for prison systems to offer possibilities “for human, spiritual, cultural and professional growth” that favour “healthy reintegration” in society, offering “new possibilities” that benefit everyone.
We all have mistakes that need to be forgiven and wounds to heal, he pointed out, and in doing so, the forgiven can themselves bring forgiveness, the reborn can bring rebirth, and the healed can be healers.
Trust and hope in the future
In conclusion, the Pope encouraged everyone to renew their trust in the future and “always look to the horizon, always look to the future, with hope.”
In thanking those present before leaving, the Pope gave the inmates an icon of the Blessed Mother and Child, explaining how in it you can see a mother’s tenderness, “and this tenderness Mary has with all of us, with all of us, she is the Mother of tenderness.”
Groups of inmates then came up to greet the Pope, offering words of gratitude for his visit and hopes for a better future for them and our world. They gave the Pope fruits of their efforts in working in the prison-run cooperatives, producing a variety of products ranging from soaps, clothing and flowers.