Near the end of his life, Pope Francis reportedly donated his remaining money to care for incarcerated prisoners.
Francis died April 21 at 88, making him the second oldest Pope in Vatican history.
Although the Roman Catholic Church's finances had become an internal issue, Francis was asked to support prison ministry initiatives financially. The Pope had long displayed solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
"I told him that we have a big mortgage for this pasta factory and if we can reduce it, we will lower the price of pasta, sell more and hire more boys," Bishop Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary Bishop of Rome and director of the Office for Prison Pastoral Care, told La Repubblica newspaper, Euronews reported. The pasta factory operates in a juvenile prison, Casal del Marmo.
"He replied, 'Almost all my money is finished, but I still have something in my account.' And he gave me 200,000 euros."
Urgent: Warren Buffett's Warning Signal Hits the Highest Level in History... Read More Here
From the beginning of his papacy, Francis made headlines by washing the feet of inmates on Holy Thursdays and calling for greater compassion within justice systems.
For Holy Thursday this year, just four days before his death, the Pope invested his last bit of energy to visit the Regina Coeli prison.
"I remember a tired man, whose body was frail, yet who demanded attention to the prisoners his presence," Ambarus said.
"He [fought for] them until his last breath. That is why the prisoners saw hope in him. A father died for them."
Ambarus also remembered the Pope visiting Rebibbia prison to open a Holy Door on the occasion of the Jubilee inauguration last December.
A Holy Door at Rebibbia — an idea from the inmates themselves — was enthusiastically embraced by Francis as a powerful way to "reignite the light" within prison walls.
National Catholic Reporter reported that the Holy Door at Rebibbia has motivated groups of volunteers, priests, and religious sisters to visit the prison and join the prisoners for Mass and moments of reflection.
"Since Monday I have been receiving messages from people who say they now feel like orphans," Ambarus said after Francis' death. "Some prisoners have asked me to put a flower on Francis' grave for them."