Pope brings Holy Year and prayers for better future to Rome prison, a 'cathedral of pain and hope'

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church’s once every quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million pilgrims to Rome.

Francis stood up from his wheelchair, knocked on the door to the chapel at Rebibbia prison and walked across the threshold, reenacting the gesture he performed at the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica two nights earlier on Christmas Eve.

The opening of the Holy Door at the basilica officially kicked off the Jubilee year, a church tradition dating to 1300 that nowadays occurs every 25 years and involves the faithful coming to Rome on pilgrimages.

"The first Holy Door I opened at Christmas in St. Peter's. I wanted the second one to be here, in a prison," Francis told the Rebibbia inmates before he entered. “I wanted each of us here, inside and out, to have the possibility of throwing open the door of our hearts and understanding that hope doesn't disappoint.”

Francis dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to hope and made clear that prisoners would be an important part of it: The final grand event of the Jubilee is a special Mass for inmates at St. Peter's on Dec. 14, 2025. Francis has long made prison ministry an important part of his priestly vocation and has made several visits to Rebibbia since becoming pope in 2013 while also including prison visits in many of his foreign trips.

His message is always one of hope, believing that people who are serving prison sentences need something to look forward to more than most. That is especially true in Italy, where prison overcrowding and inmate suicides are at record highs, according to the Antigone Association, which tracks prison conditions.

According to Antigone's 2024 report, 88 prisoners killed themselves in Italian lockups this year — more than any other year — and Italy's inmate population was 132% over the system's capacity.

In a statement Thursday, Antigone called on Italian authorities to hear Francis' appeal to give prisoners hope. It called for structural reforms that put into practice the constitutional principles of “a punishment that is dignified, humane and looks to the social reintegration of those who are in prison.”

In his homily, Francis suggested the prisoners think of hope as an anchor that is fixed on the ground and that they try to hold tight to the rope that is attached to it, even if it sometimes hurts their hands.

“Hold onto the rope of hope, hold onto the anchor," Francis said. “Never let it go.”

Speaking to reporters outside, Francis recalled that whenever he speaks to prisoners, the first thing he always asks himself is “why them and not me.”

“Because we all can fall, the important thing is to not lose hope, to hold onto that anchor of hope," he said.

Back at the Vatican for his noon blessing, Francis called prison “a cathedral of pain and hope” as he repeated his message. He also doubled down on his 2025 wish for peace in the world and for wealthy countries to reduce or eliminate the debt owed by poorer countries.

“One of the things that characterizes Jubilees is the remission of debts,” Francis said, calling the debts owed by many poor countries simply “unsustainable."

Francis’ outing to Rebibbia on a frigid morning was his final big event of the week after he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Tuesday evening at St. Peter’s Basilica and delivered his Christmas Day blessing from the loggia overlooking the square.

The 88-year-old pope, who often suffers from respiratory infections in winter, has a few days to rest before gearing up for the New Year’s Eve vigil and Mass the following day.

With the St. Peter’s Holy Door now open to the public, a steady stream of pilgrims was filing into the basilica, a pace that is expected to continue through next year until the door closes on Jan. 6, 2026.

Francis’ 2025 involves a dizzying calendar of Jubilee events that will sorely test his stamina, with special Jubilee Masses for all the main groups of pilgrims who are being celebrated during the year: Adolescents, migrants, teachers and law enforcement, among others.

So far, he has only one foreign trip under study: A May visit to Turkey to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis arrives to recite the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis leaves after he recited the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Francis leaves the Rebibbia Prison where he symbolically opened a Holy Door with inmates in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis leaves the Rebibbia Prison where he symbolically opened a Holy Door with inmates in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis leaves the Rebibbia Prison where he symbolically opened a Holy Door with inmates in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The motorcade escorting Pope Francis arrives at the Rebibbia Prison where the Pontiff symbolically opens a Holy Door with inmates in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis arrives at Rebibbia prison for the event of the opening of the Holy Door of the chapel at the prison in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In this image released by Vatican Media, Pope Francis opens the holy door marking the start of the Catholic jubilar year 2025 before presiding over the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vatican Media, HO)

In this image released by Vatican Media, Pope Francis opens the holy door marking the start of the Catholic jubilar year 2025 before presiding over the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vatican Media, HO)

In this image released by Vatican Media, Pope Francis opens the holy door marking the start of the Catholic jubilar year 2025 before presiding over the Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Vatican Media, HO)

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Jubilee Year, at the Vatican, Dec. 24, 2024. (Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis arrives at the Rebibbia Prison where he symbolically opens a Holy Door with inmates in Rome, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities have detained a Russia-linked ship as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, according to police and news media reports, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.

Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku said at a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.

The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials as a suspected part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers, Yle television reported. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance.

The Eagle S anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle reported, relying on police statements.

The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.

Estonia's government was holding a extraordinary meeting on the issue Thursday, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on X. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

“Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation,” she said on X. “The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents.”

Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said that officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.

The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.

Estonian network operator Elering says there was enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)

Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)