‘The Lord allows us all to start anew,’ Pope tells prisoners

June 11, 2026

Pope Leo XIV visited a prison in Barcelona (video) and told the prisoners that “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,” Pope Leo added during his June 10 visit.

Citing St. Augustine’s Confessions, the Pope also said that “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.”

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Journey to Spain: Visit to the "Penitential Center Brians 1" (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 6/10/26)
• Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to Spain (6 – 12 June 2026) – Visit to the Brians 1 Penitentiary Centre (Holy See Press Office, 6/10/26)