In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed the feet of residents of juvenile prison in Rome

Pope Francis performed a Holy Thursday ritual at a Rome juvenile prison, washing and drying the feet of 10 male and two female residents who are serving time at the facility. The pope performed the same feet-washing ritual at the Casal del Marmo facility during his papacy’s first year to demonstrate that the Catholic Church should focus on individuals living on society’s fringes. During the ritual, the pope poured water on one foot of each resident and used a white towel to pat the foot dry before kissing it. Many young people whispered to the pope, and he briefly chatted with them in return.

Francis told those gathered in the prison chapel that the foot-washing was a symbol of how we should treat each other, lamenting the number of injustices and ugly things in the world. He also reminded them that ‘any of us can fall into sin’ and that the ritual confers on us the dignity of being sinners. The lesson, he added, should be to help each other so that life becomes better. The 12 residents included a Muslim from Senegal, as well as young people from Romania, Russia, and Croatia.

Earlier on Thursday, Francis presided over Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, where dozens of rows of priests sat in front of rank-and-file Catholics in the packed church. During the homily, the pope encouraged priests not to forget to be pastors of the people, amid decades of scandals involving sex abuse of children by clergy that caused many people to lose trust in their pastors. The basilica ceremony typically includes the blessing of ointments and the renewal of priests’ promises made when they were ordained. Bergamot perfume from trees confiscated by authorities from mobsters in southern Italy was added to the ointments at this year’s Mass, highlighting the spirit of renewal that the pope indicated the priesthood needs.

The pope has a chronic knee problem but was able to navigate the small spaces of the chapel unaided or with a cane. He used a wheelchair to leave after his roughly 90-minute appearance. On Saturday, he was discharged from a Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, and the Vatican said at the time that he would carry out the entire Holy Week schedule, including the Good Friday late-night Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s Colosseum and Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.