Pope Francis washes feet of male, female prison inmates

Pope Francis washed the feet of a dozen inmates at a juvenile detention centre in a Holy Thursday ritual that he celebrated for years as archbishop and is continuing now that he is pope. Two of the 12 were young women, a remarkable choice given that the rite re-enacts Jesus washing of the feet of his male disciples.

The Mass was held in the Casal del Marmo facility in Rome, where 46 young men and women currently are detained. Many of them are Gypsies or North African migrants, and the Vatican said the 12 selected for the rite werent necessarily Catholic.

Because the inmates were mostly minors the facility houses inmates aged 14-21 the Vatican and Italian Justice Ministry limited media access inside. But Vatican Radio carried the Mass live, and Francis told the detainees that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion in a gesture of love and service.

"This is a symbol, it is a sign --washing your feet means I am at your service," Francis told the youngsters. "Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty, as a priest and bishop I must be at your service."

Later, the Vatican released a limited video of the ritual, showing Francis washing black feet, white feet, male feet, female feet and even a foot with tattoos.

A church for the poor

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio would celebrate the ritual foot-washing in jails, hospitals or hospices part of his ministry to the poorest and most marginalized of society. Its a message that he is continuing now that he is pope, saying he wants a church "for the poor."

Previous popes would carry out the foot-washing ritual on Holy Thursday in Romes grand St. John Lateran basilica and the 12 people chosen for the ritual were priests to represent the 12 disciples.

That Francis would include women in this re-enactment is symbolically noteworthy given the insistence of some in the church that the ritual be reserved for men only given that Jesus disciples were all male, and that the Catholic priesthood that evolved from the original 12 disciples is restricted to men.

"The popes washing the feet of women is hugely significant, because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on and even banned in some dioceses," said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of "The Jesuit Guide." "It shows the all-embracing love of Christ, who ministered to all he met: man or woman, slave or free, Jew or Gentile."

After the Mass, Francis greeted each of the inmates and gave each one an Easter egg.

"Dont lose hope," he said. "Understand? With hope you can always go on."

Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino, who has made easing Italys woefully overcrowded prisons a priority, attended the Mass.