Pope to give Gospel to prisoners as Easter gift

April 15, 2014: Pope Francis is giving copies of the Gospels to the inmates of a major prison in Rome, as his special spiritual gift for Easter. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the official almoner or almsgiver of Pope Francis will personally go and deliver 1200 copies of the Gospels on Wednesday to the inmates of the Regina Coeli prison, not very far from the Vatican.
The Gospels are the same as those distributed to the faithful during the midday 'Angelus' prayer on Sunday, April 6th and at the Mass celebrated by the Pope the same afternoon in the Rome parish of St. Gregory the Great in Magliana.
The pastoral care of the Regina Coeli prison has been entrusted to the Roman province of the Franciscan Friars Minor who currently work with volunteers, catechists and neocatechumans. Three masses are celebrated on Sundays. The Spanish speaking prisoners enjoy the weekly assistance of a Spanish priest and there is also a priest to assist the Polish prisoners and a number of catechists who care for African and Romanian inmates.