It was the first-ever visit by a pope to a Spanish prison. At Brians 1 in Catalonia, around 80 inmates, who are involved in prison ministry programs, welcomed Pope Leo XIV.
Though the meeting only lasted about 20 minutes, the encounter was deeply emotional. Two women prisoners shared their testimonies with the pope, including Montse, whose story was especially moving.
I have experienced the death of the people I loved most, and although I was given the gift of faith… I was confronted with the silence of God. I had the best family in the world, and I know I caused them great pain. I could never accept the death of my son. I didn’t understand why God had taken him.
During a long period, I suffered from severe insomnia that could not be treated with medication or hospital care. And he gave me the ability to sleep. One night, holding a cross, I asked the Lord to help me, and I slept for ten hours. From that moment on, I felt it was God who had helped me. Now I only hope to be reunited with my son in heaven.
Afterwards, Josefina, a woman who nearly lost her son in an accident, spoke and described the incident as a miracle. Then, Pope Leo XIV addressed the group.
He told them that while anxiety and sorrow may mark certain moments in life, no one is defined by their past mistakes.
POPE LEO XIV
If we trust in divine grace and allow ourselves to be guided and transformed by it, we discover in our lives how the past does not condemn the future, but rather offers us the possibility of changing our decisions and choices.
To each of you I say: God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better! The Lord allows us all to start anew, for being human and being Christian does not mean never making mistakes, but rather growing in the ability to convert, repent, make amends and, above all, to reconcile and forgive.
This was the pope’s first stop on his second day in Barcelona. From there, he went on to Montserrat before ending his visit with Mass at the Sagrada Família.
