Pope Leo XIV Visits Devoto Prison Before Final Mass in Argentina

Pope Leo XIV entered the Devoto prison complex in Buenos Aires on Wednesday morning to meet inmates selected by the Prison Pastoral. The visit was scheduled for 8:00 according to the official Vatican program, before he traveled to Lujan for the farewell mass of his Argentina visit.

The activity lasted about half an hour in the prison gymnasium and had a reduced format. Selected inmates, members of the Prison Pastoral, and prison staff attended the meeting.

“Thank you Holy Father because with your presence we feel the embrace of the Father. Embrace that makes no distinction based on the past. Embrace that reminds us of our dignity. That which nothing and no one can take away.”

The focus of the encounter was listening rather than a large ceremony. Leo XIV received testimonies from three men chosen by the Prison Pastoral, who shared their life stories and the role faith played during their imprisonment.

According to El Cronista, two of the men remain deprived of liberty while the third has already regained freedom. All three received accompaniment from religious workers inside Devoto and were chosen to explain how their connection with Jesus produced a change in their lives.

The inmates had been carrying out a spiritual preparation itinerary for the pontiff's arrival. Some are in the final stage of their sentences and accessed study and work benefits linked to their conduct as part of their reintegration processes.

Unlike other papal prison visits, there was no foot-washing ceremony. The center of the activity was conversation and prisoner testimonies.

After the ceremony, Leo XIV greeted one by one all the inmates who witnessed the meeting, as well as prison service staff and members of the Prison Pastoral. He then met again with Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva and Justice Minister Juan Bautista Mahiques, who had not entered the ceremony, received a gift from the officials, and departed for Lujan.