The passage of the Holy Door can give birth to mercy even in the hell of an African prison: inmates are visiting other prisoners, who are mostly sick and elderly. The Community of Sant'Egidio has long been present in the prison of Douala (this city is the economic capital of Cameroon) with frequent visits and concrete help. Overcrowding is a serious problem in this penitentiary (there are more than 3,000 prisoners in these facilities, which were built to accommodate only a thousand), and it forces a good number of inmates to sleep on the floor, in the yard, by leading in this way to imaginable consequences for their health.
This year, the most important event was the passing of the Holy Door, which was built thanks to an idea of Sant'Egidio and was created by local artisans who offered to make it out of wood and cardboard. In particular, the occasion took place in the prison of Douala where numerous individuals are still awaiting a trial, and a group of those people is even sentenced to death. The event was important because it received a letter of congratulations, which was written by Pope Francis to the city's archbishop, Msgr. Samuel Kleda, who in turn read it to the inmates. The Pope wrote: "Your initiative of passing through a mobile Jubilee Door, which was fabricated from cardboard, is beautiful especially when the aim is to meet Him! The material is humble but the initiative is noble."
However, the passage of the Holy Door performed a miracle of solidarity. Since then, a substantial number of inmates, who had been already gathering to pray and care for those most in need inside the prison, have begun to visit, with the warden's permission, the ward that houses the sick and the one in which some elderly people are imprisoned. This proved that mercy could win even in extreme living conditions during the Holy Year.
