On the afternoon of Maundy Thursday, the Pope went to the women’s prison of Rebibia, on the outskirts of Rome, where he celebrated the Lord’s Last Supper and performed the rite of foot washing. He reminded us that the Lord always awaits us with open arms and never tires of forgiving us.
Jānis Evertovskis – Vatican
About 200 people took part in the Holy Mass, which was held in a large tent in the prison yard – prisoners, prison staff and some of their family members. The Pope washed the feet of twelve 40- to 50-year-old women from different countries of the world – Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia. The Rebibia prison is the largest of the four women’s prisons in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Many foreign women are serving their sentence there. There are a total of 370 women there.
In a short homily, the Holy Father drew attention to two episodes of the Gospel – the washing of Jesus’ feet and the betrayal of Judas. Jesus humbles himself as he washes the feet of his apostles. With this gesture, He helps us understand what He said: “I did not come to be served, but to serve.” The Pope emphasized that the Lord, by washing our feet, reveals to us the way of service.
The second episode, which is sad, concerns the betrayal of Judas – continued Francis. Judas was unable to live in love, and money and selfishness led him to this sad outcome. “But Jesus forgives everything. Jesus forgives always“, the Pope emphasized. “He only asks that we ask for forgiveness”. Here the Holy Father recalled what he had already said several times in other places, which he had heard from a wise old woman: “Jesus never gets tired of forgiving. It is we who tire of asking for forgiveness”.
Francis called on the prisoners and everyone present to ask the Lord’s mercy not to get tired. We all make minor or major mistakes. Each of us has our own life story. But the Lord is always waiting for us, with open arms, and never gets tired of forgiving.
At the end of the address, the Holy Father indicated that he would now repeat the gesture that Jesus made, that is, he would wash his feet. This gesture draws our attention to the vocation of service. He urged to pray that the Lord would help all to grow in this vocation of service.
The Pope greets the imprisoned women
The act of washing the feet did not pass without emotion. Tears could be seen in the eyes of some women. It was a very emotional moment – the gray-haired pope washes the feet of the inmates of the prison, thus repeating the gesture of Jesus himself, which symbolizes service.
The service ended with words of thanks given by Nadia Fontana, director of the prison, on behalf of all present. After that, the Pope was presented with a basket of food prepared by the women, a rosary and two stoles made by the prisoners. The Holy Father presented a painting of the Mother of God to Rebibia prison.
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