Pope Francis has held a mass for 1,000 prisoners at the Vatican, telling them that they should never give up hope. The Pope called for society to put more trust in rehabilitation, improved jail conditions and more clemency. Most prisoners were from Italian jails and many of these
were foreigners. There were also delegations from about 10 other
countries. They were accompanied by about 3,000 chaplains,
guards, ex-prisoners and family members who came to Rome for a day
dedicated to prisoners as part of the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year of Mercy, which ends later this month.