Pope Francissensitive to the prison universe, washed this Holy Thursday, March 28, 2024, the feet of 12 detained women in a prison in Rome, a ritual that marks the Thursday before Easter.
The Argentine Jesuit visited the Rebibbia women’s prison in mid-afternoon, on the northeastern outskirts of the Italian capital.
I had already performed this rite in 2015, but It is the first time that it is dedicated only to women.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Jorge Bergoglio washed the feet of each of the 12 inmates, some of whom were crying, before wiping them with a towel and kissing them.
The 87-year-old pope appeared in good condition even though his health had been a cause for concern in recent days, due to repeated infections that have prevented him from reading his speeches on several occasions.
“We all know big and small failures,” Pope Francis launched in an improvised homily during the mass celebrated in the courtyard of this detention center, where some 370 women are imprisoned.
Pope Francis, who was already visiting prisoners in Buenos Aires, He stressed that washing the feet “is a gesture that calls us to serve others.”
In the Christian tradition, Maundy Thursday commemorates the day when Christ washes the feet of the apostles at his last supper.
The ritual was perpetuated in Christianity, except in some branches of Protestantism.
Since his election in 2013, the head of the Catholic Church has visited prisons or shelters for refugees on several occasions, washing the feet of former gangsters, the sick or marginalized.
On Friday night he should preside over the Via Crucis at the Colosseum, which he had not been able to attend in 2023 for health reasons.
Source: https://www.noticiascaracol.com/mundo/papa-francisco-lavo-los-pies-de-12-mujeres-en-una-prision-de-roma-y-lo-hizo-en-silla-de-ruedas-cb20
