It was a very emotional sight to behold as Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 detainees in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday service.
Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 young detainees to replicate the Bible's account of Jesus Christ's gesture of humility towards his 12 Apostles on the night before he was crucified.
The 12 prisoners included two girls, one Italian Catholic and one of Serbian Muslim origin, local prison Ombudsman, Angiolo Marroni said ahead of the ceremony.
Some of the prisoners volunteered to have their feet washed, while others were given an invitation to help them overcome their embarrassment, the Catholic News Agency quoted the prison Chaplain as saying.
The newly elected Pope has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican.
He has broken with tradition for the feet-washing ceremony, which is normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.
It would be recalled that former Pope Benedict XVI visited the centre in 2007, but not for the Holy Thursday Mass. Only for the first two years of his Pontificate did he perform the feet-washing himself, after which the task was delegated to the priests.
Easter is the most important festival in the calendar of the Catholic Church.
I must say this is humility at its peak. The type of love am talking about.
It was a very emotional sight to behold as Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 detainees in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday service.
Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 young detainees to replicate the Bible's account of Jesus Christ's gesture of humility towards his 12 Apostles on the night before he was crucified.
The 12 prisoners included two girls, one Italian Catholic and one of Serbian Muslim origin, local prison Ombudsman, Angiolo Marroni said ahead of the ceremony.
Some of the prisoners volunteered to have their feet washed, while others were given an invitation to help them overcome their embarrassment, the Catholic News Agency quoted the prison Chaplain as saying.
The newly elected Pope has brought a new sense of simplicity to the Vatican.
He has broken with tradition for the feet-washing ceremony, which is normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.
It would be recalled that former Pope Benedict XVI visited the centre in 2007, but not for the Holy Thursday Mass. Only for the first two years of his Pontificate did he perform the feet-washing himself, after which the task was delegated to the priests.
Easter is the most important festival in the calendar of the Catholic Church.
I must say this is humility at its peak. The type of love am talking about.
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