Pope Francis washed the feet of 11
asylum seekers and a reception-centre staffer on Holy Thursday,
repeating the humble act Jesus performed on his disciples at the
Last Supper.
During his homily at the Mass preceding the ceremony near
Rome, Francis said the mercenary greed of arms traffickers was
behind the bloody March 22 Islamist terror attacks in Brussels.
The pope's decision to wash refugees' feet demonstrated
once again the centrality of the plight of migrants and refugees
in his papacy.
Three women and eight men living at the reception centre
for asylum seekers (CARA) at Castelnuovo di Porto north of the
capital and a young Italian woman who assists them were
chosen to take part in the Holy Thursday ritual.
The group was made up of three Muslims, one Hindu, three
Coptic Christians and five Catholics (including the staffer).
They are all waiting for their application for
international protection to be processed by the Italian
authorities and have been at the centre for between two months
and two years.
Almost all arrived in Italy by boat after making the
dangerous sea crossing from north Africa.
"Behind the act of war and destruction in a European
city...there were others...the arms manufacturers and
traffickers," Francis said in his homily. In the same way, those
behind Judas paid him 30 pieces of silver to turn Jesus over,
Francis said.
He pointed to two contrasting actions to drive home the
importance of believing in peace and brotherhood.
"All of us here together - Muslims, Hindus, Catholics,
Copts, Evangelicals - are all brothers and children of the same
God who want to be integrated and live in peace: one action," he
said.
"Three days ago an act of war and destruction in a European
city was carried out by people who do not want to live in peace
- but behind that act as behind Judas there were others...the
arms manufacturers and traffickers who want blood not peace, war
not brotherhood". Francis went on to explain the significance of
his act of washing the feet of asylum seekers as Jesus washed
his disciples' feet.
"In this moment when I will carry out the same act as Jesus
in washing your feet, we are all of us together making an act of
brotherhood and we all say: 'we are diverse, we have different
cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live
in peace'".
"May each in his own tongue pray the lord so that this
brotherhood becomes contagious in the world, so that there will
no longer be 30 pieces of silver to kill one's brother, so that
brotherhood and goodness will always remain".
Francis then washed the feet of the 11 refugees and the
staffer at the CARA.
When he washed the feet of CARA staffer Angela Ferri,
the only Italian in the group, the woman murmured 'Mamma',
recalling her mother who died a few days ago.
"It is a simple but eloquent gesture," said Monsignor Rino
Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the
Promotion of the New Evangelisation and coordinator of the Holy
Jubilee Year.
"Pope Francis will bend over and wash their feet as a sign
of service and attention towards their condition," he said
earlier.
After the Mass Francis met with three families of asylum
seekers living at the centre, including one originating in
Palestine whose members span four generations.
In total 892 people from 25 countries are currently living
at the CARA at Castelnuovo di Porto.
Of these, 849 are men, 36 are women and 7 are minors.
Of the total 557 are Muslim, 333 are Christian and two are
Hindu.
Some 80% of the asylum seekers are aged between 19 and 26.
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