Pope Francis made a visit on Thursday to one of the largest prison complexes in Italy, opening a special "Holy Door" for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, in what the Vatican said was the first such action by a Catholic pontiff.

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Pope Francis’ vicar for the Diocese of Rome, described the event as “a gesture that renews our profession of faith in Christ.”

The Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Baldassare Reina, has opened the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where he will subsequently celebrate Mass. The jubilee event, the second in a