Jubilee for Prisoners, from 12 to 14 December

12 December 2025

From Friday December 12th to Sunday December 14th, the last major Jubilee event, the Jubilee of Prisoners, will be held in Rome.

Approximately 6,000 pilgrims have registered for the event, which is aimed at prisoners and their families, prison officers, police officers, and prison administration staff. Participants are coming from approximately 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.

Representatives from Rome’s Rebibbia New Prison,  Rebibbia Women's Prison, and Casal del Marmo Juvenile Prison will be present. There will also be groups from other Italian prisons in Brescia, Teramo, Pescara, Rieti, Varese, and Forlì, as well as a group from the San Vittore Juvenile Prison in Turin. In addition, delegations of pilgrims will travel from the Pastoral Service for Prisoners in Portugal, the Spanish dioceses of Barcelona, ​​Seville, Asidonia-Jerez, Merida-Badajoz, Valencia, and Cordoba, and from Malta and Chile. A group of 500 pilgrims will be accompanied by the General Inspectorate of Italian Prison Chaplains.

Volunteer groups who serve in penitentiaries will also be present, including Italy’s Coordination of Penitentiary Volunteer Organizations and Associations (SEAC) and the Giovanni XXIII Association. In addition, officials from the Italian Ministry of Justice and Department of Penitentiary Administration will also attend the event.

The three-day Jubilee will begin on Friday, December 12th, with a conference entitled "The Right to Hope on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Prison Law, in the Year of the Jubilee of Hope, and in the Triduum of the Jubilee of Prisoners," which will be held from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the LUMSA University in Rome.

On Friday, December 12th and Saturday, December 13th, two days of study, prayer, and discussion will take place at the Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano (Via Sacrofanese, 25), organized by the General Inspectorate of Italian Prison Chaplains.

Full information and details are available on the Jubilee website: https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Detenuti.html

On Sunday, December 14, at 10:00 am, the Holy Father Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The hosts for the celebration will be donated by the Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti Foundation through its "Il senso del Pane" project, which, since 2016, has involved more than 300 inmates each year in producing communion wafers for over 15,000 Italian and foreign dioceses, religious congregations, parishes, monasteries, and Christian organizations. The hosts to be consecrated during the Prisoners' Jubilee Mass come from the projects based in the Opera, San Vittore, and Bollate prisons.

The Jubilee will conclude on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm at the Conciliazione Auditorium, with the musical "Oltre le grate," presented by CGS Life. Admission is free, subject to available space.