The Holy Door in the Rebibbia Prison of Rome is the only one, besides Saint Peter’s Basilica, that Pope Francis will personally open on December 26.
This bronze door, hidden behind the high walls of the Roman prison, symbolises not just this penitentiary, but all prisons worldwide.
“Since we received the news, everyone – from the head of the department to the volunteers, staff, and the inmates – has been filled with a great sense of anticipation and excitement,” said Teresa Mascolo, Head of the Rebibbia Prison.
This extraordinary gesture was strongly desired by the Pope himself, who emphasized it in the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee 2025, “Spes non Confundit.”
In the Bull the Pope writes that “In the Jubilee Year, we are called to be signs of hope for many brothers and sisters in hardship—especially prisoners who endure both the harshness of confinement and emotional emptiness.”
The Jubilee of Hope finds its most powerful expression in the Pope’s visit to the prison, a profound sign of hope for those who need it most.
“The motto of the prison police is precisely related to hope, so this is certainly a moment of hope here,” noted Sarah Brunetti, Commander of the Penitentiary Police of Rebibbia Prison.
Mascolo highlighted, “Pope Francis has the ability to reach everyone’s hearts in a very direct and authentic way, so it will certainly be a message of closeness, of love, solidarity, but also of understanding what are the difficulties that characterize a confined community like the prison. And it is not by chance that this is the Jubilee of Hope.”
This hope extends not just to the prisoners but to everyone living and working within the prison’s walls, which is often an extremely difficult and depressing experience.
Fr. Lucio Boldrin, the chaplain of Rebibbia prison, experiences these challenges firsthand every day.
“In cells that sometimes house six people, in very cramped spaces, with ages ranging from 25 to 80, with these bunk beds, they lie there, staring at the ceiling, only listening to the television. They shut down inside, they shut down inside,” Fr. Lucio Boldrin shared
Fr. Lucio also noted, “This Holy Door must really open to us so that we do not resign ourselves. Because resignation, the fear that nothing good will happen anymore.”
He further highlighted, “This becomes an important element of the approach, to make it clear that prisoners are human beings who may have erred to a greater or lesser degree, but they cannot be considered just numbers, and they cannot be those who are precluded from having a future, a tomorrow.”
A new tomorrow is brought to life for the prisoners through initiatives like the call center, where they work as telephone operators for the Vatican Pediatric Hospital of Bambino Gesù.
“You can’t exclude a new tomorrow,” Fr. Lucio encouraged, “because prisoners who don’t have a tomorrow, a little bit at a time fade away inside. I also see it, especially when they are young people sentenced for 22, 25, 30 years or for life imprisonment. They change completely. They die inside and that is extremely dangerous. We have continuous situations of self-harm. Self-harm is a way of shouting ‘I am here, I am a person. Listen to me. Give me a chance.’”
In a special workshop called Metamorphosis, prisoners are transforming driftwood from migrant barges into pieces of art, including rosaries and a wooden nativity scene. The Nativity Scene will be displayed during the opening of the Holy Door.
Mascolo shared, “When our prisoners found out that Pope Francis was coming to visit us for the opening of the Holy Door, they immediately became active with a disarming spontaneity in thinking of creating, of building a gift.”
The piece is being crafted as a special gift for the Holy Father, to be revealed on the day the Holy Door opens.
The 1,600-strong prison community, with diverse backgrounds and sentence lengths, eagerly anticipates the Pope’s visit on Saint Stephen’s Day. Inside the church, preparations are nearly complete, with the platform for the Pope’s wheelchair ready and final touches underway.
The church’s restored facade, with the bronze Holy Door depicting Jesus’ life, stands in waiting.
For the inmates, the Holy Door’s opening represents more than a physical act—it’s a chance to open their hearts to a new future. The event will mark the start of the Jubilee Year in Rebibbia, reminding all that, even in darkness, Jesus brings hope.
Adapted by Jacob Stein
