VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis will reportedly break from his usual practice on Holy Thursday by washing the feet of refugees rather than prisoners during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper this year.
The Vatican has yet to confirm the news, first reported in America, but if true, it will be the first time the Pope performs the washing-of-the-feet ritual since he issued an instruction to allow “all the people of God” to take part, not only men.
But during the previous three Masses of the Lord’s Supper since his election, Francis visited prisons, where he washed the feet of women detainees as well as Muslims.
The rest of Holy Week at the Vatican is likely to proceed similarly to previous years.
On March 20, Pope Francis will celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, where he will bless the palms and olive branches at the end of the opening procession and celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Passion.
As is customary, he will also issue the XXXI World Youth Day message (this is directed at the local level, in contrast to the international World Youth Day event that will take place this July in Krakow, Poland). This year’s theme is “Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Will Be Shown Mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
In the morning of Holy Thursday, he will celebrate the chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, concelebrated with cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and priests present in Rome. He will then celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the evening.
The Holy Father will preside at the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica on Good Friday, during which the papal preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, will deliver the homily. He will then be driven across Rome to the Colosseum, where he will host the Via Crucis and address the faithful at the end, imparting his apostolic blessing.
Station of the Cross Meditations
This year’s meditations for the Stations of the Cross have been written by Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, archbishop of Perugia.
In a March 16 interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Bassetti said he chose the title “God Is Mercy” for this year’s meditations. He said the Way of the Cross as well as the Year of Mercy “speak to all men and women of today who seem to me more and more lonely and confused, inserted into a society in continuous movement that rapidly consumes everything — goods, affections and desires — and that seems to have lost both the notion of sin and truth.”
People today, he said, “seem to me dramatically unhappy and suffering.”
He highlighted how there is currently the “visible suffering” seen in the poor, the migrant, the sick, the alone and the abandoned. “But at the same time, we meet rich men who seem to have everything, but, in reality, have nothing — they live an empty life and, in some cases, even desire death. As someone once wrote, evil, therefore, can also be ‘banal,’ but Jesus on the cross gives another meaning to life and shows a different path: that of conversion.”
Cardinal Bassetti said he will make many references to the magisterium and draw on the teachings of John XXIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. But more important than quotes, he said he has tried to “speak to the human heart.”
“In every station, I have tried to make reference to current events,” he said, adding that he refers to the “new martyrs” who are being killed for being Christian, migrants and refugees and the scourge of violence against children. “When I wrote those lines, I had the feeling I wasn’t using a pen and a piece of paper, but a chisel on a piece of marble, so much was the suffering in the face of these plagues.”
Cardinal Bassetti said the first (Christ’s exchange with Pilate), fourth (Jesus’ encounter with his mother) and 11th (Crucifixion) stations affected him most when writing them. All three, he said, are linked by the “dimension of power”: the “political power” of Pilate, the “generating” power of Mary and the “divine power” of the cross.
Easter Celebrations
The Easter vigil will begin at 8:30pm in St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Mass will be concelebrated with cardinals, bishops and priests. This will be followed by Easter morning Mass in St. Peter’s Square and the papal blessing urbi et orbi (“to the city of Rome and to the world”).
During the Easter Octave, the Pope will lead the Jubilee Prayer Vigil in St. Peter’s Square on April 2 for those devoted to the spirituality of Divine Mercy, followed by celebrating the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 3.
All of the ceremonies will be available for live-streaming on the Vatican YouTube channel as well as EWTN. The Via Crucis on Good Friday, Easter Sunday Mass and the urbi et orbi blessing and message from St. Peter’s Square will also be live-streamed with audio commentaries in English and Spanish at: CTV.va/content/ctv/it/worldtelecast/mondovisione-marzo-2016.html.
Edward Pentin is the Register’s Rome correspondent.
View Comments
Comments
Join the Discussion
Holy Week - a time for penance, prayer and grace. Passion of Christ - sanctify us.
Gosh, Theresa. You might as well write clearly that all women should go back to their kitchen, leave the workplace and just reproduce and give birth to as many children as feasible. Theresa, the historical and cultural context of Palestine (not Israel!) at the time of Jesus is AS IMPORTANT as the words spoken by Jesus. Otherwise, we would still have slavery, polygamy, unversal poverty, etc. Women are not the secondary ‘sexual objects’ of the time of Jesus.
Holy week is omnipotent in every work, word, deed, and thought that Jesus brought in the New Covenant that is universal, to all people. Jesus brought the New Covenant, the True presence of God in the Eucharist, the Catholic Church. Jesus defining obedience standing against the corrupt, the evil of Rome is exactly as all that follow the Gospel are obligated to today. Unfortunately, the United States itself is recognized around the World as the new rome. The Sermon on the Mount, is the foundation of the Gospel, humility is the fountain of the Catholic Faith. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called for the people to be free of slavery sin, government, and laws that bound a heavy load on the people, but no one lifted a finger to budge their cross, Jesus did. Jesus, as the apostles, as the priest today, could have never been married. For we recount the fact, of recognizing. As Jesus carried the cross, he could not have encountered a wife and children saying. Father, throw down that cross and get home, we are hungry, why are you not toiling and working to feed us? We can equally equate Mary, never would have went off to murder those that persecuted her son, as many women in the United States glorify their contribution to murder of the Islamic, but she recognized to forgive them as well, as her Son said. Forgive them father, they know not what they do, directly speaks to US today .
Priest’s in the Truth of Living in a heart of charity toward all. We must live as Jesus did, total denial of self, total commitment to Gods will be done.
Every man and women needs to recognize that Jesus gave his full commitment to God alone, and never denied his father, but stood against what was not right, in particular he stood up to the corruption of both the government and the jewish religious who enslaved the people in debt. People were forced to borrow money to pay the temple tax to the jewish, money changers, losing their land by default of debt.
Jesus, as priest could have never been married with family, children he was obligated to, and have truly stood as he did, to free the people, by his life, suffer, and die.
Its is equal to a priest, For never could have a women and her children told Jesus, Hey dad, what are you doing dragging that cross? Your already are committed, obligated to the cross of a family, put that down and get home.
Definitively nor could a women, in following the example of Mary, demand she be equally “qualified” to go off and murder the Islamic, for oil as so many girls do today..
The Holy Thursday Mass is the unique (ONE day in the year) re-enactment of what JESUS DID and SAID at the LAST SUPPER with only His 12 Apostles (His first priests) present. Over the centuries, the BISHOPS, in their Cathedral Churches, have followed the example of JESUS on Holy Thursday. (Mind you, the Bishops in their dioceses, re-present the MAN, Christ Jesus, and their Priests re-present the 12 Apostles—-who were all men and HIS first priests) This re-enactment of Holy Thursday in our CATHEDRALS has been carried on all through the Centuries…. This year, the “Washing of the Feet” is going to be celebrated in ALL the CHURCHES in the USA. However, no matter where it is celebrated, if it is supposed to be a re-enactment of WHAT JESUS DID AND SAID during the LAST SUPPER, ONLY 12 MEN SHOULD HAVE THEIR FEET WASHED. (Now, don’t tell me: “JESUS was discriminating against women,” OR, “JESUS would do differently if HE were here, today”! And dear women, don’t ever forget, WE have the MOTHER OF JESUS, as our MODEL!!! )
Join the Discussion
We encourage a lively and honest discussion of our content. We ask that charity guide your words. By submitting this form, you are agreeing to our discussion guidelines. Comments are published at our discretion. We won’t publish comments that lack charity, are off topic, or are more than 400 words. Thank you for keeping this forum thoughtful and respectful.
Comments are no longer being accepted on this article.