Complete speech by Pope Francis to the prisoners in the Montorio prison in Verona

Below is the full speech of Pope Francis addressed to the prisoners of the Montorio prison in Verona this May 18.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I thank the Director for her welcome and all of you for the warmth, celebration and affection you show me. My greeting also goes to all those who work at this institute: caregivers, educators, health personnel, administrative staff and volunteers. I also want to say hello to everyone who is looking through the windows, greetings to all of you. I really wanted to meet you, all of you together.

For me, entering a prison is always an important moment, because prison is a place of great humanity. Yes, it is a place of great humanity. Of proven humanity, sometimes fatigued by difficulties, guilt, judgments, misunderstandings and suffering, but at the same time full of strength, the desire for forgiveness, the desire for redemption. As he said in his speech.

And in this humanity, here, in all of you, in all of us, the face of Christ is present today, the face of the God of mercy and forgiveness. Do not forget this, God forgives everything and always forgives. In this humanity here, in all of you, there is the sense of looking to the God of mercy.

We know the situation in prisons, which are often overcrowded, causing tension and hardship. That is why I want to tell you that I am close to you, and I renew my call, especially to those who can act in this area, to continue working to improve life in prisons.

Once, a woman who worked in the prison had a nice relationship with the women, because it was a women’s prison. A mother of a family, the lady is very human. She told me that she was devoted to a saint. What Santa? “Holy Door”, because it is the door of hope. And all of you have to look at this door of hope. There is no human life without horizons. Please do not lose the horizons that will be seen through the doors of hope.

Following the chronicles of your institute, I have learned with sadness that unfortunately here, recently, some people, in an extreme gesture, have renounced life. This is a sad act, to which only unbearable despair and pain can lead.

Therefore, as I join the families and all of you in prayer, I want to urge you not to give in to despair, to look at the door as the door of hope. Life is always worth living, and there is always hope for the future, even when everything seems to fade away. Our existence, that of each one of us, is important, it is important, we are not discarded material, it is a unique gift for us and for others, for everyone, and especially for God, who never abandons us, and who does knows how to listen, rejoice and cry with us and always forgive

With Him at our side, with the Lord at our side, as the director has said, God is one. Our cultures have taught us to call him by one name or another, and to meet him differently, but he is the same Father of us all. He is one, and all religions of cultures look at a single God with different modalities. He never abandons us, with Him at our side we can overcome despair, and live each moment as the opportune moment to start over, start over.

There is a beautiful Piedmontese song that, I will try to translate into Italian, which goes like this, it is sung by the Alpine people: In the art of ascending, what matters is not not to fall, but not to remain fallen. To all of you, who work in this prison, also as volunteers, family members, to all of you, I tell you one thing: it is only legal to look at a person from top to bottom, only once: to help them get up.

Therefore, in the worst moments, let us not close ourselves in: let us talk to God about our pain and help each other to bear it, among fellow travelers and with good people at our side. It is not weakness to ask for help, no, let’s do it with humility and confidence. It is humanity. We all need each other and we all have the right to hope, beyond any story and any error or failure. It is a right, hope, and it never disappoints, ever.

In a few months the Holy Year will begin: a year of conversion, renewal and liberation for the entire Church; a year of mercy, in which to deposit the burden of the past and renew the impulse towards the future; in which to celebrate the possibility of changing, of being and, where necessary, truly being ourselves again, giving our best. May this also be a sign that helps us get up again and take the reins, with confidence, of our daily lives.

Dear friends, thank you for this meeting. If I tell you the truth, it’s doing me good. Today you are doing me good, thank you. Let’s continue walking together, because love unites us beyond all distance. I remember you in my prayer and I ask you, please, to pray for me as well. For, do not pray for me against. Don’t forget, in the art of ascending, what matters is not not falling, but not staying fallen. Thank you.