Pope Leo XIV has washed the feet of 12 priests in the traditional Holy Thursday ritual, restoring a tradition his predecessor had broken by including laypeople and non-Christians in ceremonies at prisons, juvenile detention halls and centres for asylum seekers.
The priests included 11 ordained by Leo last year, along with the Rev Renzo Chiesa, the director of the Rome Diocese’s primary seminary.
Leo poured water from a golden pitcher over the priests’ feet before drying them with a white cloth and bestowing a kiss, in what the pontiff in his homily called a “gratuitous and humble gesture” that demonstrates “the true omnipotence of God”.
“Indeed, through this act, Jesus purifies not only our image of God – from the idolatry and blasphemy that have distorted it – but also our image of humanity,” Leo said in his homily inside the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, the official ecclesiastical seat of the pope as the bishop of Rome.
“For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” said the pontiff, who has been outspoken against war. “In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service and love.”
The Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony is a hallmark of every Holy Week and recalls the foot-washing Jesus performed on his 12 apostles at the Last Supper together before he was crucified.
Francis revolutionised the ritual for the Vatican by insisting, from his first Holy Thursday as pope in 2013, that it include women and people of other faiths among the 12. Previously, popes performed the ritual on Catholic men only at the basilica in Rome.
Leo’s decision to restore the prominent place of priests during the ritual is both a return to tradition and a gesture consistent with what seems to be his effort to encourage Catholic clergy and reinforce his appreciation of their service.
Pope Francis often criticised priests and what he called the “clerical” culture that places priests on a pedestal, above the laity. Francis believed such an attitude was responsible for the abuses of power and authority epitomised by the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
Leo, though, has spoken out about the need to protect priests’ rights. He devoted his April prayer intentions to priests in crisis, those who have lost hope because of loneliness, exhaustion or doubt.
“Let them feel they are not mere functionaries or lonely heroes, but beloved sons, humble and cherished disciples, and pastors sustained by the prayer of their people,” Leo said in the prayer intentions released this week by the Vatican.
He asked for God to teach the faithful to care for their priests, “to listen without judging, to give thanks without demanding perfection”, and accompany them with prayer.