In what could be one of the most heartwarming acts that the Pope has done in the past few weeks, the 79-year-old pontiff responded to a 16-year-old gang member who is currently serving in jail for involuntary manslaughter.

According to CNN, Carlos Adrian Vasquez Jr. has decided to end his life as he started to serve an 11-year sentence full of challenges and trials along the way. Before losing his last thread of hope, Vasquez wrote a letter to Pope Francis, asking for forgiveness for his crime.

A lot of people send letters to the Pope, but not everyone gets a response since the pontiff is busy with his very hectic schedule and humanitarian activities. However, he took time to respond to a convicted juvenile's letter to shed a ray of hope.

"I couldn't believe it. I didn't think the Pope would write to someone who's behind bars," Vasquez said, who is now 18 and will soon be moved to another prison. The Pope's letter has changed a lot in the young man's perspective, and through his warm words of wisdom, Vasquez decided that life should go on.

"[The letter] gave me a lot of hope knowing that there are people like the Pope who still have not given up on us," he added.

"Dear Carlos...I pray that as you and your fellow residents celebrate the opening of the Holy Door, you may receive these gifts and be filled with peace and hope. Know that the Holy Father is thinking of you and praying for you," Pope Francis wrote.

After reading the Pope's letter and deciding that things could still change for the better through the grace of God, Vasquez wrote a letter to the parents of his victim. He asked them to forgive him and be given the chance to live on.

Vasquez joined a gang at the age of 15 and since then has become deviant and stayed away from home for days and even a week at times. At the darkest hour of his life, he was charged for a crime he claimed he didn't commit. He was at the site of a gang fight where someone was killed and he was charged for involuntary manslaughter.

Rev. Michael Kennedy has been helping out change Vasquez's life, along with other juvenile delinquents serving jail time. While he was difficult at first, the Reverend said the young man eventually changed and became acquainted with the faith and has since become a living example of changed lives through second chances.