The pope invited everyone to pray for all prisoners in the world, and that prisons focus on rehabilitation.

"It is a sin that shames us," Pope Francis wrote. "Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity."

"That is how one builds peace, saying 'no' to hatred and violence—with action—and 'yes' to fraternity and reconciliation," Pope Francis said on Jan. 1.

Although the total was slightly higher from the 3.2 million visitors received by Pope Francis in 2015, for a jubilee year it still fell short of the 5.9 million pilgrims who visited in 2014.

Besides politics, readers were interested in stories about liturgy, racism, interfaith issues and gender.

Though he turned 80 a couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis did not slow down in 2016.