Maundy Thursday marked in Poland and beyond
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
24.03.2016 12:12
Polish Roman Catholics are marking Maundy Thursday, recalling the Last Supper that Christ shared with apostles on the eve of his Crucifixion.
Participants hold up their hands as Pope Francis celebrates the Chrism Mass for Holy Thursday at St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, 24 March 2016. EPA/ANGELO CARCONI
Following custom, Archbishop of Warsaw Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz will wash and kiss the feet of twelve elderly men during a mass at the capital's Cathedral of St John, echoing Christ's gesture to the apostles during the Last Supper.
The ritual will be repeated by archbishops across Poland.
“This shows the humble nature of the priesthood,” commented Father Jan Maria Szewek.
“We have to serve others.”
Pope washes feet of asylum-seekers
Meanwhile, as critics of the Polish government accuse it of washing its hands of providing asylum for refugees, Pope Francis will wash the feet of 12 asylum-seekers in a gesture of compassion.
“His actions mean to tell us that it is important to pay due attention to the weakest in this historic moment; that we are all called to restore their dignity without resorting to subterfuge,” commented Archbishop Rino Fisichella, in an article in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
The ritual will take place at the Centre for Asylum Seekers in Castelnuovo di Porto, 25 kilometres north of Rome. The 12 asylum-seekers include four Catholics from Nigeria, three Muslims, three Coptic women from Eritrea, and a Hindu from India. (nh)
Source: TVP/radiovaticana.va