Pope Francis Washes Feet of Young Inmates
By Church News
Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 young men and women, inmates, at a juvenile prison in Rome, during a Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday.
The pope presided over the live-streamed Mass for more than 80 inmates, family, staff, and guards in the chapel of the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention centre on Rome’s outskirts on April 6.
Pope Francis reflected on the meaning of Christ’s choice to wash the feet of his disciples.
“Washing the feet was a habit at that time,” he said. “But who washed the feet? The slaves.”
He explained that Jesus performed this gesture to help his disciples better understand what would happen the next day at his crucifixion.
The lesson we should take from this is to help one another, the pope said. “Jesus, today, with this celebration, wants to teach us this: nobility of heart.”
At the end of his homily, Francis said he will repeat Jesus’ gesture of washing the feet as a reminder of the lesson to help one another. “Life is more beautiful like that,” he said.
“[Someone might think,] ‘but I have this difficulty, this…’” he added. “It will pass! The Lord is next to you and he will never abandon you, never. Think of this.”
After the homily, Pope Francis walked with the help of a cane to where 10 young men and two young women sat on a raised platform near the altar.