On Maundy Thursday, April 14, 2020, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in a prison outside Rome.
The mass was offered by the Pope in Civitavecchia, a port city around 50 miles northwest of Rome.
The Holy See press office said that Pope Francis preached inside the prison’s chapel the Gospel reading that describes how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:1-15).
In his homily, the Pope describes Christ’s action as “a strange thing”.
He said: “Jesus teaches us this, simply: among you, you must wash each other’s feet […] one serves the other, without interest: how beautiful it would be if this could be done every day and to all people.”
The Pope has said the Lord had called his betrayer “friend”, waiting for him until the end, forgiving everything.
”God forgives everything and God always forgives! It is we who get tired of asking for forgiveness,” he commented.
The Pope added that each one of us is carrying something for a long time in our heart, “but ask Jesus for forgiveness.”
”There is a Lord who judges, but it is a strange judgment: the Lord judges and forgives,” urging everyone present to follow the Lord in his example with “the will to serve and forgive each other.”
After the homily, 12 inmates of different gender, age, and nationalities were chosen to represent the disciples for the Pope to wash their feet.
Offering mass in prisons and juvenile detention centers has been a custom Pope Francis has introduced since his election in 2013.
After celebrating the mass in Civitavecchia, the prison director thank Pope Francis and presented him with gifts made by the inmates and prison staff.
Pope Francis went to a visiting room where he was greeted by about 50 inmates and prison staff before he returned to his Vatican Residence. (Mio Angelo Hermoso/SOCOM/San Juan Nepomuceno Parish)
