Pope Francis donated €200,000 to prisoners from personal account before he died

Pope Francis donated €200,000 to prisoners from his personal account before he died,the prelate who accompanied him on his final jail visit last week has revealed.

The late pontiff paid a surprise visit to Rome’s Regina Coeli,one of Italy’s most overcrowded prisons,last week to offer well-wishes to inmates ahead of Easter.

Francis stayed at the prison for around half an hour,the Vatican said afterwards. He met with a group of about 70 inmates. ‘I wanted to be close to you,’ the ailing pope told them,adding: ‘I pray for you and your families.’

Now,after Francis’s death on Monday,the bishop who accompanied him on that visit,Benoni Ambarus,revealed the pope’s extraordinary gesture.

Speaking to Italian newspaper la Repubblica,the Auxiliary Bishop of Rome said: ‘A few days ago,he was in Regina Coeli.

‘I remember a tired man,who dragged himself along,but who shouted with his presence the need for attention to the prisoners. He dragged himself along for them,until his last breath.

‘His last belongings he donated to them,€200,000 from his personal account.’

Francis visited prisons throughout his 12-year papacy,often on Holy Thursday.

Pope Francis visits Rome’s Regina Coeli prison on Holy Thursday on April 17 (Picture: Vatican Pool/Getty)

Regina Coeli,a former 17th-century monastery in the touristy Trastevere neighbourhood,is primarily a men’s prison.

It currently houses about 1,100 prisoners,nearly double its official capacity of 628 inmates,according to the Italian justice ministry.

Msgr Ambarus said: ‘A prisoner recently told me that no one ever went to visit him. It hurt me and made me think. Just being there is enough.

‘There is a need to take people by the hand when they leave. The second: provide for the needs of prisoners. Many depend only on charity. The State only provides for food,not even shoes.

‘Either you have someone,or you walk barefoot. They are brothers and sisters,not people to be forgotten behind a locked door.’

Since becoming pontiff in 2013,Francis marked Holy Thursday by celebrating Mass in jails (Picture: Vatican Pool/Getty)

He added of the pope’s gesture: ‘When I asked for a contribution,he told me that the finances were finished. Then he added: “Don’t worry,I have something in my account”.

‘He sent €200,000 from his own pocket.

‘Now,with the will,I learn that he will be buried thanks to a benefactor. Because he gave everything of himself to the last ones.’

Francis decreed in his will that he be buried in a simple underground tomb in St Mary Major Basilica.

He proclaimed that the tomb should only have ‘Franciscus’ written on it.

The will also revealed that Francis had arranged for a benefactor to pay for it all,rather than using the Vatican’s money.