Pope Francis has criticised prisons around the world by saying that conditions must improve to be "worthy of human persons".
The Catholic leader made the comments at his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
The remarks come after 60 people died in a gang fight in a Brazilian prison earlier this week.
The Pope urged the faithful to pray for the prisoners and their families at this time.
Pope Francis said he was "pained and concerned" about the situation in Brazil and reasserted his belief that prisons need to be "places of re-education".
He also criticised the problem of prison overcrowding.
The Pope has previously campaigned for better prison conditions and denounced life imprisonment sentences.
In November, Pope Francis held a Mass at the Vatican where he invited 1,000 inmates and former convicts from 12 countries.
At the service, he urged world leaders to respect the dignity of prisoners and to abolish capital punishment.
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