In the middle of a hot summer, Italian prisoners were given ice cream by Pope Francis.

The Vatican's charitable office has just announced that they are "not taking a summer break" this year. Instead, Vatican volunteers have been visiting prisoners and comforting the less fortunate – these are "two of the seven works of physical mercy" of the Catholic faith.

In addition, Pope Francis decided to purchase 15,000 ice cream cones and deliver them to prisoners at the Regina Coeli and Rebibbia prisons in Rome to help them cool down. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski delivered the ice cream on behalf of the Pope, hoping to alleviate the discomfort of the inmates during the record-breaking heatwave in Europe this summer.

According to the Vatican, this is just one of many actions being taken "to help and bring hope to thousands of people in Rome's prisons." The statement added that in the future, the Vatican will also focus on other forms of assistance such as "feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the ragged, visiting the sick and prisoners, providing shelter, and burying the dead," as many charitable institutions are still operating under restrictions.

Therefore, as every year, the Vatican's Charity Office has taken small groups of homeless people, or those living in homeless shelters, to the sea or a lake near Castel Gandolfo to relax and have dinner at a pizza parlor. The agency also funds free Covid-19 testing and vaccinations for the homeless and poor in Rome.

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