Pope Leo XIV tells Buenos Aires inmates they can begin their lives anew: 'Human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them'

Pope Leo XIV tells Buenos Aires inmates they can begin their lives anew: 'Human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them'.

Pope Leo XIV visited the Villa Devoto Federal Penitentiary in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, the last day of his visit to Argentina, listening to testimonies from inmates and urging them to treat their time behind bars as a chance for conversion and a fresh start, Vatican News reported.

The pope reflected on the limits every person faces, from the death of a loved one to old age and sin. Society, he said, pushes people to feel immortal through drugs, easy money or violence, yet a small light remains in each person that God's grace can rekindle. "Human beings do not flourish in spite of their limitations, but often through them," he said.

"Even amid the evil, pain, and deepest failures you may have experienced or caused, your present circumstances can become an opportunity to begin your lives anew," Leo told the prisoners, encouraging them to make peace with God and with their families and to learn new skills while serving their sentences.

Speaking to inmates' families, he recalled that Jesus identified himself with prisoners and was himself deprived of freedom before the Cross. He urged prison staff not to give in to the belief that nothing will change, warning that violence and aggression only perpetuate cycles of corruption, and asked them to help build an environment that "truly fosters rehabilitation and reintegration into the community."

Leo closed with an appeal to Argentine authorities and society to protect children and young people "so that they do not fall into the pernicious networks of criminality." The prison visit capped an Argentina leg that included a Mass in Córdoba, a youth vigil in Buenos Aires and a tribute to his predecessor, Pope Francis, on the 12-day South America journey.