How the Jubilee of Prisoners is relevant for us all

The Jubilee of Prisoners on December 13-14 was one of the last highlights of the Jubilee Year, and thousands of prisoners around the world participated. Jubilee Masses, times of prayer, celebrations of forgiveness: in each diocese, chaplaincies offered incarcerated people a true jubilee experience.

But that's not all. In the days before the Jubilee event, we met with permanent deacon Bruno Lachnitt, general chaplain of the Catholic prison chaplaincy of France, who explained how this event can have a profound impact on prisoners ... but also touch everyone's hearts.

Aleteia: How did the “Jubilee for Prisoners” take shape?

Deacon Bruno Lachnitt: I’m the general chaplain for Catholic worship in prisons. I’m therefore responsible for all Catholic chaplaincies at the national level [in France]. When the Jubilee Year 2025 was announced, we didn't yet know if anything would be planned for prisoners. So we thought about how to bring the Jubilee to life in prison, especially since it’s the Jubilee of Hope, which has a very special resonance for them!

When we learned that Pope Francis had chosen December 14 as the date for the Jubilee for prisoners, and that it was the last thematic Jubilee of the year, we proposed that all bishops celebrate the Jubilee in prison and symbolically open a Holy Door in the institutions. This idea was approved by the Permanent Council of the Conference of Bishops of France, which invited all bishops to be present on that day. The result: 185 Jubilee events in prisons, 103 of which will welcome a bishop!

How does the Church speak of forgiveness or mercy in places of confinement and suffering? How does this concern us too, on the outside?

Deacon Lachnitt: If we don't talk about forgiveness and mercy there, then it doesn't make much sense to talk about it outside! Our fine words are put to the test of reality. It’s easy to talk about forgiveness on the outside, but when we’re confronted with serious acts, what does that mean in concrete terms? That’s where these words take on their full meaning. (...)

That is why this jubilee is also an opportunity for a conversion of how Christians who are on the outside see things. The jubilee isn’t only “inside”: it must also shine a spotlight on the reality of incarceration, and in particular on today's conditions of detention, which are sometimes dramatic.

“Our fine words are put to the test in prison.”

The idea is that the bishops come to say to prisoners: “You are not locked into what you have done. You are not reducible to your actions. We have faith in the best in you.” And they also say to those outside: “Do not despair of those who are inside.” Because in the Gospel, Christ never locks anyone into their past: he always opens up a future.

What fruits do you hope to see from this jubilee, both for prisoners and for the Church?

Deacon Lachnitt: For prisoners, I hope that this jubilee will be another stepping stone on their journey, that they will hear that we haven’t given up on them. Many have a very negative image of themselves, because that’s the image that is reflected back to them. But in order to become the best version of yourself, someone has to tell you that they believe in you... 

François Mauriac said: “It is the trust that others place in us that shows us the way.” That’s exactly what the celebration of the jubilee is all about: showing the trust that we have, and that God has, in them.

And for the Church, it’s a matter of reminding ourselves that the boundary between good and evil does not lie between “them” and “us.” In a Christian vision, there aren’t the good on one side and the bad on the other: this boundary runs through each of us. We must therefore be wary of labels that pigeonhole people. Our common identity as Christians is that we are forgiven sinners, whether we are inside or outside.