VATICAN CITY -- In his first general audience of 2017 Wednesday, Pope Francis expressed pain and worry over the recent Brazilian prison massacre in Manaus, and called for better conditions in prisons.

 “Yesterday, the dramatic news reached us from Brazil about the massacre that happened in a Manaus prison, where a hugely violent clash between rival gangs caused dozens of deaths,” began the pope.

 I express my pain and worry for what has happened. I invite us all to pray for the deceased, for their relatives, for all those detained in that prison and for those who work there,” said the pontiff.

 The Argentine pope renewed his call “for penitentiary structures to be places of re-education and social reinsertion, and for the living conditions of the inmates to be worthy of human beings -- they should not be overcrowded.”

 “I invite you to pray for the deceased and living inmates, and for all those detained around the world,” said Francis, before concluding with a prayer.

 nkd