By Kielce Gussie
At the conclusion of a Mass with inmates at the Sollicciano prison in Florence, Italy, Archbishop Gherardo Gambelli read a letter from Pope Francis addressed to them. Cardinal Ernest Simoni also joined the Christmas celebration at the Florentine institution.
The Pope and the inmates
In his brief letter to the inmates, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with them, assuring them of his “human and spiritual closeness.” Reflecting on the upcoming Christmas season, he encouraged the prisoners to trust in God as a merciful and good Father. The Pope invited them to “welcome Jesus who is born and fills our hearts with trust and hope.”
Pope Francis closed the letter wishing the inmates a Holy Christmas and peaceful New Year, and he extended his “fatherly blessing” “to the imprisoned brothers, to their families, and to the prison staff.”
Message of hope for the Holy Year
Reflecting on the reading for the day from Luke’s Gospel, Archbishop Gambelli reiterated the message of hope tied to the nearing Jubilee Year. He encouraged the inmates with the image of the birth of Christ. This birth “took place in a difficult situation, of oppression, of poverty.” Yet through His birth, “the incarnate God brought light into all our histories.”
The Archbishop explained prison does not have to be a place without hope. Through trust in God, “prison can become the place where one finds peace in the heart,” he explained.
Cardinal Simoni: 28 years of imprisonment
Archbishop Gambelli used the example of Cardinal Simoni who suffered imprisonment and forced labor for 28 years under the communist regime in Albania. On Christmas Eve in 1963 he was arrested. After his release in the 1990s, he forgave his jailers and worked to promote reconciliation in post-Communist Albania. In 2016, Pope Francis made him a Cardinal.
“His presence here today among you recalls a shared suffering,” Archbishop Gambelli said, It “signals that the dignity of the person must always be respected in justice.” Moreover, the Cardinal’s story testifies to the importance of faith in challenging moments.
A Jubilee for prisoners
On Dec 26, Pope Francis will open a Holy Door at Rebibbia’s New Complex prison in Rome. This event will mark the start of the Jubilee at the prison. Commander Sarah Brunetti explained the importance of the Pope’s visit. She described it as more than a job, it is “a vocation, and now, thanks to the Pope’s visit, it becomes a recognition of our commitment as a mission of mercy and hope.” – Vatican News
