Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12
detainees in a youth detention centre near Rome as part of the Maundy Thursday
service. The Christian ritual takes place on the Thursday before Easter to
commemorate Christ’s Last Supper.
Thousands of pilgrims and tourists are arriving in
Rome to attend ceremonies during the holy week ahead of Easter. In a homily,
Pope Francis earlier urged priests to do less “soul-searching” and engage more
with parishioners.
“It is not in soul-searching… that we encounter the
Lord,” the Pope told hundreds of cardinals, priests and bishops in St Peter’s
Basilica.
“We need to go out… to the outskirts where there is
suffering, bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight and prisoners in thrall to
many evil masters.” Worshipers should “leave Mass looking as if they had heard
good news”, he added.
And on Easter Sunday morning, Pope Francis will
deliver his first “Urbi et Orbi” message to the city of Rome and to the world.
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