The Pope in Devoto prison, a place of torture during the Argentine dictatorship

The Pope visited a tragically historic place in Buenos Aires, the Villa Devoto prison, which has a century of history and will soon be decommissioned. Many prisoners have already been transferred to other detention facilities. Many incidents have occurred in this prison, but the most serious took place during the last military dictatorship: 65 detainees died in the massacre of the "Seventh Pavilion" (Pabellón Séptimo), which occurred on March 14, 1978. Judicial investigations and testimonies collected afterward established that the victims suffered burns, smoke inhalation, gunshot wounds, and physical assaults during the repression inside the prison. Between 1976 and 1983, the Devoto prison also served as a clandestine center for detention and torture. The facility housed political prisoners and individuals who, after being "disappeared," were formally entered into the prison system. In 2012, the prison was designated as a "place of memory." On his last day in Buenos Aires, the Pope chose to visit the detainees at the Federal Penitentiary Complex of Buenos Aires. "This place, in its structure and organization, shows the harshness of confinement: the impossibility of freely leaving, of hugging your children every day, and the experience of other forms of deprivation. I imagine your sleepless nights," said Pope Leone XIV, "spent agonizing over your loved ones or reflecting on those you may have harmed. I am aware of your disappointments: not finding a helping hand, someone who had faith in you or who could help you get back on your feet and move forward precisely when you needed it most. It can seem, in fact, that all of this is an open wound destined never to heal." But the Pontiff indicates that it is still possible to maintain hope. "I would like to emphasize that prison is also a place of profound change and conversion: paths of growth, learning, and acquiring new skills and knowledge. It is a place where people who, after experiencing human fragility in its most painful form, have been able to transform the desert of their existence into a fertile garden." For Leone XIV, it is indeed "possible to pass from absolute darkness to the lighting of small lights of hope. Glimmers that radiate outward: toward your families, toward those who work here, and toward society as a whole." "The time spent in this Institute can represent the opportunity for a new beginning: an opportunity to reconcile with God and to reintegrate without fear into your family and society," the Pope concluded, reiterating that "another life is possible," and "all of us, myself first, must keep it in our hearts." Today is the Pope's last day in Argentina: in the afternoon, he will fly to Peru, the last country of this apostolic journey in South America. In the morning, in Buenos Aires, at 8 am (12 pm Italian time), he will visit the city's prison. Then, transfer to Lujan for Mass at 10 am (2 pm Italian time). At 2 pm (6 pm Italian time), the Pope will leave Buenos Aires to fly to Lima. Arrival is scheduled for 5:30 pm (11:30 pm Italian time). The first appointments will immediately follow: greetings to President Keiko Fujimori and a meeting with the authorities. Yesterday, in his meeting with the youth of Buenos Aires, the Pope called on them not to be deceived by the world's new idols. "Today, too, idols are rising that demand our adoration: success at any cost, money, obsession with physical appearance, popularity, or the frantic search for pleasure. Sometimes," Pope Leone said during the vigil at the Los Españoles Monument, "to gain the approval of others, we can lie, betray, or humiliate someone on social networks. Envy can prevent us from rejoicing in the good of others, and selfishness can lead us to treat people like objects. There are also those who conduct business by offering pleasures that end up enslaving us, such as pornography and various substances." Then the appeal: "You are called to stand up before the idols of our time. Do not kneel before what cannot give you life! And if you have ever fallen, get up! Do not allow anything or anyone to take from you the freedom that God has given you." "Todos, todos, todos," "all, all, all": even at the vigil with the youth in Buenos Aires, the Pope returns to recalling Bergoglio. Repeating the words of Pope Francis, pronounced at World Youth Day in Lisbon in August 2023, Leone XIV emphasized: "He pronounced them with that characteristic insistence, as if wanting to ensure that no one was left without listening. I would like to draw inspiration from those words to speak about what it means to live as disciples of Jesus: all toward Christ, all with Christ, all as Christ." Copyright reserved © ANSA