Following Maundy Thursday’s tradition and reenacting the Bible’s passage in which Jesus washes his disciples’ feet before his crucifixion, Pope Francis performed his annual Easter season ritual, where he kneeled in front of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian refugees and proceeded to wash and kiss their feet at a shelter in Castelnuovo di Porto, Italy.
“All of us together: Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals. But all brothers and children of the same God,” the Pontiff said during the service. “We have different cultures and religions, but we are bothers and we want to live in peace.”
During his recent speeches, Pope Francis has condemned all terrorist attacks calling them “acts of war, of destruction…by people who do not want to live in peace,” and encouraged brothers and sisters around the world to help each other during these times of suffering and pain, especially during the current Lenten season and Holy Days.
In this year’s ceremony, which was the first one to include women, eleven refugees participated, including three Eritrean Coptic Christian migrants, four Catholics from Nigeria, three Muslims from Mali, Syria and Pakistan, and a Hindu man from India.
The Holy Father will be dedicating Friday’s mass to the world’s refugees, the persecuted, and families. The service will take place at The Vatican in Rome.
"No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great." - John Chrysostom.
Happy Easter!
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