VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis met with 200 Italian prison chaplains on Oct. 23, asking them to tell the imprisoned that they are in his prayers and to remind them that Jesus Christ is with them.

“Tell them that I pray for them, I pray to the Lord and to the Virgin that they may positively overcome this difficult period in their lives, and that they are not discouraged, that they do not close themselves up, because the Lord is near them,” he said Oct. 23 at the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.

“No cell is so isolated that it may exclude the Lord,” he added.

“He does not stay outside their cells, but instead he is inside with them. He too is still a prisoner, even today. He is a prisoner of our selfishness, our systems, of many injustices, because it is easy to punish the weakest while the big fish swim freely in the waters.”

Pope Francis recounted his friendship with a prisoner in Buenos Aires. He also told the chaplains that their ministry “makes visible the presence of the Lord in prison.”

“You are a sign of Christ’s closeness to those brothers in need of hope.”

The Bishop of Rome spoke of a “justice of reconciliation,” a “justice of hope” and a “justice of open doors.” He said this goal is “not a utopia,” but rather something that can actually be achieved.

“It is not easy, because our weaknesses are everywhere, and the devil too is everywhere, but it is always necessary to try.”

The prison chaplains are participating in the National Congress of Italian Prison Chaplains. They met with the Pope before his Wednesday general audience.

At the end of his remarks, Pope Francis prayed that the chaplains might always be in the hands of the Virgin Mary because she is “the mother of all of you and of all those in prison.”