Pope Francis thanked the prisoners of Teruel, Spain, for their gift and sent them Christmas greetings.

According to a note of the Catholic Church in Aragon’s portal, a few months ago a group of prisoners of the Spanish city of Teruel  crafted a leather cross in whose interior were four prayers: the “Our Father,’ the “Hail Mary,” the Glory Be” (written in Latin) and Saint Francis’ “Make me an instrument of Thy peace.” The cross was accompanied by a letter of presentation.

On Christmas Eve, on the occasion of the Mass in the Teruel Penitentiary Center, the Bishop of the diocese read His Holiness’s letter of gratitude. ”Permit me to say to you that in every cross that issues from the work of your hands, like the one I now have with me, there is not only a craft. There is a certainty there: on the cross, Jesus loved us to the end and, on the cross, God gives us every day a new opportunity to allow ourselves to be renewed by His love . . . Thank you for this gift, which is a sign of faith and hope in a better future … I thank you for your prayers <and> I wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you. And, please, don’t forget to pray for me.” At the end of the reading, the participants applauded excitedly.

This letter is one more gesture of the Holy Father to people that are suffering. Moreover, it was a “nice Christmas gift for persons deprived of their freedom, for those that work with them and for the Penitentiary Pastoral team of the diocese of Teruel and Albarracin, stated the mentioned source.

Translation by Virginia M. Forrester