Pope Francis washes feet of 12 women prisoners in Maundy Thursday Mass

ROME – Pope Francis on Holy Thursday washed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Roman prison, notably including no men in the ritual, telling them to never tire of asking for God’s forgiveness.

Speaking off-the-cuff during his March 28 Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the Pope said, “At this moment of the supper, two episodes call our attention,” the first of which is “the washing of the feet.”

With this act, “Jesus humbles himself, Jesus with this gesture made us understand what he said, ‘I did not come to be served,’ he taught the path of service,” he said.