A federal judge halted Arkansas' unprecedented plan to execute several inmates before the end of the month because one of its execution drugs is about to expire.

This gesture, he continued, is meant to "sow love among us" and that the faithful, even those in prison, can imitate Christ in the same manner.

Remarkably, the death sentences are being pushed through this month in an effort to beat the May expiration date for the state’s supply of midazolam, a controversial sedative that is one of three drugs used in lethal injections.

It is the third Holy Thursday that Francis has spent at a detention center, part of his longstanding emphasis on ministering to prisoners.

According to Orthodox tradition, the stone on which Jesus was buried, in what is now the Sepulchre church, emits a light that bursts into flames initially cool enough to touch before turning scalding hot.

Even the Apostles were skeptical at first.