PRESS RELEASE

FROM 12 TO 14 DECEMBER, THE JUBILEE OF PRISONERS

(Vatican City, 11/12/25) – From Friday 12 to Sunday 14 December, the last major Jubilee event will be held, the Jubilee of Prisoners. The event, for which approximately 6000 pilgrims are registered, is dedicated to prisoners and their families, prison staff, the police and the prison administration. Participants come from around 90 countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Poland, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Madagascar, Brazil, Colombia, the United States, Guinea Bissau, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia.

The Jubilee will also be attended by representatives from the Rebibbia Nuovo Complesso Prison, the Rebibbia Women's Prison and the Casal del Marmo Juvenile Detention Centre in Rome, as well as prisons in Brescia, Teramo, Pescara, Rieti, Varese, Forlì and the San Vittore Juvenile Detention Centre in Turin. In addition, delegations of pilgrims organized by the Prison Ministry of Portugal, the Spanish dioceses of Barcelona, Seville, Asidonia-Jerez, Merida-Badajoz, Valencia, Cordoba, Malta, Chile, and a group of 500 pilgrims accompanied by the General Inspectorate of Italian Prison Chaplains will arrive in Rome.

There will also be groups of volunteers who serve in prisons, such as the Coordination of Prison Volunteer Organizations and Associations (SEAC) and the Giovanni XXIII Association. In addition, several Italian authorities from the Ministry of Justice and the Italian Department of Prison Administration will also take part in the event.

The three days of the Jubilee will begin on Friday 12 December, with the Conference entitled “The Right to Hope in the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Penitentiary System, in the Year of the Jubilee of Hope and in the Triduum of the Jubilee of Prisoners”, which will be held from 9:00 to 18.00 at LUMSA University in Rome.

On Friday 12 and Saturday 13 December, two days of study, prayer and discussion will be held at the Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano (Via Sacrofanese, 25), organized by the General Inspectorate of Italian Prison Chaplains. All information and details are available on the Jubilee website: https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/it/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Detenuti.html

On Sunday 14 December, at 10.00, the Holy Father Leo XIV will celebrate Holy Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The hosts for the celebration will be donated by the Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti (“House of the Spirit and the Arts”) Foundation, through the project Il senso del Pane (“The meaning of the Bread”), which since 2016 has involved more than 300 detainees every year in the creation of hosts destined for over 15,000 Italian and foreign dioceses, religious congregations, parishes, monasteries and Christian communities. The hosts, which will be consecrated during the Eucharist of the Jubilee of Prisoners, come from the eucharistic laboratories of the prisons of Opera, San Vittore and Bollate.

The Jubilee will conclude on Sunday afternoon, at 13.30, in the Auditorium Conciliazione, with the musical comedy Oltre le grate ("Beyond the Bars"), produced by CGS Life. Admission is free and subject to availability of seats.

DETAILED PROGRAMME

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/it/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Detenuti.html

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti

CONTACTS

PRESS OFFICE – JUBILEE 2025

Dicastery for Evangelization

Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the world press@iubilaeum2025.va