Pope Francis offered encouragement to prisoners, artists and young people in Venice on Sunday, with his first trip of the year testing his mobility and resilience after a number of health scares in recent months.

Pope Francis made his first trip out of Rome for seven months on Sunday with a packed visit to Venice that took in an art exhibition, a prison and a Mass, with the 87-year pontiff acknowledging that life could be hard.

Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to visit Venice’s contemporary art festival during a trip which saw him visit a female prison and rehabilitate the reputation of a pioneering American nun artist.

Incarcerated women serve as guides to the show, which reflects Pope Francis’ longtime commitment to society’s marginalized people.

Pope Francis has warned against the excessive commercialization of art and the destructive impact of the market on creativity during a speech to artists at the Venice Art Biennale. "Certainly, the market promotes and canonizes,