A gesture of humility meant to remind us of the duty of Christians to serve others, especially the weakest. Pope Francis, sensitive to the prison world, washed the feet of 12 women detained in a Rome prison on Thursday, a rite marking Holy Thursday which precedes Easter. The Argentine Jesuit went in the middle of the afternoon to the women's prison of Rebibbia, on the northeastern outskirts of the Italian capital. He had already performed this rite there in 2015, but this is the first time that he has dedicated it only to women.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Jorge Bergoglio washed the feet of each of the 12 inmates, some in tears, before drying them with a towel and kissing them. The 87-year-old pope appeared in good shape although his state of health had caused concern in recent days, due to repeated infections which prevented him from reading his speeches on several occasions.
Today, in what is believed to be the first time ever, a Pope washed the feet of 12 women on Holy Thursday. @romereports pic.twitter.com/a1O99aAIIg
— Anneliese Taggart (@annietag_) March 28, 2024
“We all experience small and big failures,” said the Pope in an impromptu homily during the mass held in the courtyard of this detention center where some 370 women are incarcerated. Foot washing is “a gesture that calls us to serve others,” he added.
Read alsoPope Francis welcomes a thousand detainees to the Vatican
A few minutes earlier, François - who was already visiting the prisoners in Buenos Aires - took part in a walkabout with a smile, handing out handshakes to the detainees. In Christian tradition, Maundy Thursday commemorates the day when Christ washed the feet of the apostles during his last supper (the Last Supper). The ritual has been perpetuated in Christianity, except in certain branches of Protestantism.
VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis visits women's prison, washes the feet of 12.
Pope Francis has made this a tradition of his, every Holy Thursday of his pontificate, but is he in line with the intended symbolism dating back to Jesus Christ?
A thread on John 13 and it's significance: pic.twitter.com/WtSychoSvY
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) March 28, 2024
It is a highlight of Holy Week, which commemorates the last days of Christ before his resurrection at Easter. Since his election in 2013, the head of the Catholic Church has visited prisons or refugee reception centers several times, washing the feet of former mafiosi, the sick or marginalized people. Friday evening, he is expected to preside over the “Stations of the Cross” at the Colosseum, in which he was unable to participate in 2023 for health reasons.