Pope Leo XIV performed the traditional Holy Thursday foot-washing for 12 priests, marking a return to the rite’s classical form after his predecessor’s focus on marginalised groups.
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV performed the ritual washing of the feet for the first time on Holy Thursday.
The 70-year-old American pontiff presided over the Mass of the Last Supper at the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome.
Dressed in a white linen apron, he poured water over the feet of 12 Roman priests before drying and kissing them.
This act imitates Christ’s gesture toward his apostles according to Christian tradition.
His predecessor, Pope Francis, had transformed the ritual during his 12-year pontificate. Francis performed it in prisons or refugee shelters, washing the feet of the sick, migrants, and incarcerated individuals.
In April 2025, a frail Francis made his final visit to a Rome jail but was unable to perform the rite himself. He died four days later, the day after Easter, at the age of 88.
By returning to the basilica, Pope Leo marked a return to the rite’s classical form. However, he directly cited his predecessor in his homily during the service.
“As Pope Francis once remarked: this ‘is a duty which comes from my heart: I love it. I love this and I love to do it because that is what the Lord has taught me to do’,” Leo quoted.
“As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed,” he continued.
On Friday, the pope will preside over the Passion service and participate in the Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum. This evening ceremony draws thousands of people each year to the illuminated amphitheatre.
He will personally carry the cross through all 14 stations retracing Jesus’s journey. This marks a return to a tradition last observed by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
