The Pope, to the prisoners of Brians: "Life's mistakes do not determine a person's identity"

Saint Stephen SesroviresOn his way to Montserrat, Leo XIV made a stop at Brians 1 prison, in an unprecedented visit that generated great expectation among the staff and the seventy inmates chosen to attend the event in the small theatre that bore the words of Matthew on the wall: "I was in prison and you came to see me". The Pope entered the hall with the audience standing and pastoral music to begin his speech with a phrase in Catalan: "Thank you all for your welcome, so full of sympathy and cordiality".

The audience was then already moved by the words of Josefina and Montserrat Benavente, two inmates who could not hide their "emotion" at the fact that the pontiff had made time to approach such an "invisibilized" group. They recounted complicated lives, mistakes they have had to pay for by losing their freedom, but also expressed the extent to which "belief and faith" have reconnected them with life. "Thanks to faith, I am a better person", affirmed Montserrat Benavente, who embraced the pontiff in a heartfelt hug, even though minutes before, while waiting for the event to begin, she said she knew that "you cannot touch the Pope".

Leo XIV wanted to bring a message of hope to the prison, a clear defense of second chances in life, and also words to comfort the inmates who have to be "far from their loved ones". He told them they were "worthy" and assured them that "life's mistakes do not determine a person's identity". Prison is an earthly punishment, but "there is no situation that makes the Lord turn away his gaze", he added, to say that God's love is "merciful" even if we have "done wrong".

"When the temptation comes to feel less than you are or you think it is not worth continuing, lift your gaze", he indicated, addressing the prisoners, to whom he asked them to continue "dreaming God's dream". Leo XIV assured that being a Christian "does not consist of not making mistakes" but in "the ability to convert, repent, amend, and, above all, reconcile and forgive" in order to "start anew". 

Before the Virolai brought the meeting to an end, the Pope and the inmates exchanged symbolic gifts. From the inmates, a painting and a ceramic plate made in the training workshops, and from the pontiff, a portrait of the Virgin Mary. The Pope left the small theatre waving to the public, with some selfies and many hands shaken. "It's historic, I never would have imagined I'd have him so close," said two female officials. To commemorate the visit, cannelloni will be served in all the dining rooms of Catalan prisons, a meal reserved for special occasions. However, if the Pope is God's representative on earth, it's clear that in Brians, earthly law reigns. Once Leo XIV, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities had left the room, the rest of the mortals had to wait inside, without moving. "First, we need to count the inmates." At the door, an official passed the detector over the inmates' bodies. The prison rules.