Pope to perform Holy Thursday foot-wash rite at Rome prison

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will wash the feet of 12 inmates at Rome’s central prison during a Holy Week ritual meant to show his willingness to serve others.

The Vatican said Tuesday that Francis will meet March 29 with inmates at the Regina Coeli prison, including those in the special “protected” wing where sexual predators are housed.

Francis has made the Holy Thursday ritual a hallmark of his papacy, part of his insistence that the Catholic Church must go to the margins of society to serve.

His decision five years ago to celebrate his first foot-washing ceremony at a Rome youth detention center raised eyebrows among conservatives after he washed the feet of women and Muslims as well.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.