On a day marked by silence and human closeness, Pope Francis visited Regina Caeli prison this Holy Thursday, one of Rome’s most emblematic penitentiary centers. Away from the spotlight and without celebrating any liturgy, the Holy Father wanted to meet personally with the inmates, listen to them, and convey a message of hope.

Accompanied by the center’s chaplain, Father Vittorio Trani, the Pope met with the inmates of the eighth section, dedicated to detainees with psychiatric illnesses. The meeting was simple, direct, and deeply human. The Pontiff greeted the prisoners one by one, many of whom awaited him with emotion and gratitude.

“I am here as a brother,” Francis reportedly said, according to witnesses present, emphasizing his desire to be close to those who suffer and live on the margins. There were no official speeches or cameras, only the real presence of Peter’s successor alongside those whom society often forgets.

This gesture, repeated every Holy Thursday of his pontificate, once again confirms the Pope’s commitment to the most vulnerable. Since 2013, he has celebrated this day by visiting prisons, hospitals, and shelters, bearing with him the face of a Church that is not afraid to get its hands dirty to embrace its neighbor.

Although this year he did not preside over the Mass in Coena Domini or perform the washing of feet, his visit to Regina Caeli was an eloquent expression of Christian love.