Pope Francis has washed and
kissed the feet of 12 prison-
ers at a traditional pre-Easter
service, telling them to shun any in-
mate hierarchy structure or law of
the strongest and to help each other
instead.
Thursday’s ritual in a prison in
Velletri, outside Italy’s capital Rome,
marks the fifth time since his elec-
tion in 2013 that Francis has held
the service, which commemorates
Jesus’ gesture of humility towards
his apostles on the night before he
died, in jail. Francis’ predecessors
held the traditional Holy Thursday
rite in one of Rome’s great basilicas,
washing the feet of 12 priests. But to
emphasise its symbolism of service,
Francis transferred it to places of
confinement, such as prisons, im-
migrant centres or old-age homes.
The pontiff told the inmates that
in Jesus’ time, washing the feet of
visitors was the job of slaves and
servants.
“This is the rule of Jesus and the
rule of the gospel. The rule of ser-
vice, not of domination or of humil-
iating others,” he said.
“Among you, it must not be this
way (domination). The strongest
must serve the smallest one. The
one who thinks he is the strongest
must be a servant. We must all be
servants,” he said.
