On the last day of his nearly week-long US visit on Sunday, Pope Francis visited a correctional facility in Philadelphia where he touched the lives of both male and female prisoners, calling himself a "pastor" and a "brother" to them who wants to share their situation and "make it my own."
He also called for prison systems that focus on the rehabilitation of prisoners to enable them to rejoin society after completing their sentences, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities," the Pope said while talking to inmates at the Curran Fromhold Correctional Facility.
Pope Francis told the prisoners that "I am here as a pastor, but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own."
One of the inmates the Pope deeply touched is Jennifer Millar, who is expecting to be released in seven days on a drug offense, the Times said.
Millar, 37, whose life was consumed by 22 years of cocaine addiction, said she handed a letter to the Pope to pray for her children.
"It's the perfect ending to all of it. That was just awesome – meeting God's right hand man," she explained.
Another inmate who was touched by the Pope is Dolores Porrett, 55. She wore 10 rosaries around her neck given by fellow inmates, and she asked the Pope to bless them.
"My sister asked, do you feel holier now? I would never have gotten to be here. It's the best thing in the world that I get to meet him," said Porrett who is serving for dealing cocaine.
After speaking to the inmates, the Pope greeted each one of them with a handshake.
Pope laughs as he meets 'Baby Pope'
While riding the Popemobile on his way to Philadelphia's Ben Franklin Parkway to celebrate Mass on Saturday, Pope Francis noticed a baby dressed as a pope. He asked the driver to stop and for one of his security aides to bring the boy to him while laughing heartily at the sight, according to 6ABC.
The "Baby Pope" is Quinn Madden, the daughter of Daniel and Dana Madden.
Pope Francis kissed the baby, who was then handed back to his parents by a guard.
"He told his security guard to tell us that we have a great sense of humour," the Baby Pope's dad said.
