The Jubilee of the prison world Jubilee, feast, music… freedom! Let us add hope because these individual and collective experiences sustain, encourage and inspire hope. Yes, if you close your eyes… you feel the memory of the heart: faces, hugs, you breath fresh and renewing air. This Jubilee Year, promoted by the Catholic Church, has these connotations, not imposed but lived and animated by faith on the journey towards the profound encounter with the Holy Trinity. The prison world is no stranger to this; indeed, the Church has invited governments to do the following: ” I propose to the governments of the world that in the Jubilee Year they embark on initiatives that restore hope; forms of pardon or remission of sentences aimed at helping people regain confidence in themselves and in society; paths of community reintegration that require a concrete commitment to observing the law” (Pope Francis, Bull of Announcement of the Jubilee, Rome, 9 May 2024).

The response to this request takes very different forms and has very different impacts in every government and country around the world. In Bolivia, those deprived of their freedom awaited the Pope’s pardon (a miracle, a miracle of justice, because there are many guilty people in prison and many who are innocent). It took a lot of effort to convince people that it would not come from the Pope; it was not his responsibility. The government issued the pardon, but when lawyers and prisoners read it, their hope fades again, indeed, it vanishes. The path to forgiveness, the path to reintegration into the community for a prisoner released from prison, seems impossible. Why am I deprived of my freedom? …Why am I detained? The answers vary, both from those on the outside and those behind bars. The truth is that some characteristics are shared by all those deprived of their freedom: non-existent self-esteem; the awareness of being rejected and ignored by a society that is always judging; the eternal darkness of prison, which seems to make one think only of how to “recover” ‘this injustice that I have to endure’ (this is how many of those deprived of their freedom feel and think). Added to this are: overcrowding in all prisons, poor nutrition, economic poverty, abuse of authority and violence by the prison staff; many judicial officials do not value, believe or accept the defence and evidence in favour of the accused…

The lives of those deprived of their freedom, as they claim, are dark and hopeless, and so are those of prison officers. Pope Leo XIV recently stated: “Evil, in fact, must not only be punished, but also repaired, and this requires a profound consideration of the good of individuals and the common good. It is a difficult task, but not impossible for those who are conscious of performing a more demanding service than others and who are committed to irreproachable conduct.” (Leo XIV, Jubilee of Justice Workers, September 2025) With Christian eyes, hearts and will, the Catholic Church contributes and is trying to contribute even more: means and tools for the recovery and revaluation of human dignity in each of those who live in prison. Charismatically, the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret, as well as their lay friends, have an invitation, a challenge and an opportunity to recognise the suffering Christ in every prisoner and to serve him with the knowledge that they have, as the blessed Enrichetta Alfieri and many of her sisters did and continue to do: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me… to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind’ (Lk 4:16, 18b-19). For several years now, in the Latin American Province, sisters and lay friends of Saint Jeanne Antide have been responding to the call of Jesus suffering in prisons through various services: catechesis, counselling, participation in the Eucharist in prisons, literary workshops, various competitions and the search for tools necessary for the work of prisoners. Many accept God’s invitation and collaborate, to each one: HEARTFUL GRATITUDE! We need the support and collaboration of more sisters and brothers who recognise Christ in these people, worthy such as we are and so touched by personal and social sin. Sr. Caty SdC Sucre – Bolivia