In the courtyard under a white tent, Pope Francis repeated the ancient symbolic act of washing the feet of the twelve apostles: this time, it was twelve women, prisoners with difficult lives, intertwined with the threads of a complicated and painful past. Each is serving their sentence within the female section of the Rebibbia prison. Bergoglio's decision to return to a penitentiary to renew the Church's closeness and instill hope is not new. In these eleven years, he has crossed the threshold of dozens of prisons, both in Italy and abroad, always with the intention of donating hope by repeating the same phrase: «Why them and not me?».
The Meeting
In a wheelchair, pushed by an aide, the Pope approached a platform one meter high on which twelve stools had been placed. On each one, young women and also very young girls in tracksuits and sneakers took their place, where they slowly removed their socks and offered their feet to the Pope, who gently washed them with holy water and then wiped them with linen. Many cried, unable to hold back their tears. Meanwhile, emotion took shape and a great collected silence fell under the tent.
The Homily
Before renewing the ancient rite, Pope Francis spoke to everyone: the homily was off-the-cuff and rather brief. His voice sounded good although at times tired, probably because in the morning he read three dense pages of reflections, during the Chrism Mass in the basilica. «The washing of the feet shows Jesus who humbles Himself. With this gesture, He makes us understand what He had said: I did not come to be served but to serve. Christ teaches us the path of service. The other sad episode narrated by the Gospel is the betrayal of Judas who was not able to carry on love and for selfishness leads him to this decision but Jesus forgives him. Jesus always forgives everything, and asks that we ask for forgiveness. Once I heard a wise old lady, a grandmother of the people, repeating that Jesus never tires of forgiving, rather we tire of asking for His forgiveness. So, we ask for the grace not to tire. Everyone has small failures, big failures, everyone has their own story but Jesus never tires of forgiving. Now we will do the same thing that Jesus did, wash the feet, a gesture that draws attention to the vocation of service. We ask the Lord to make us grow in this vocation," emphasized Francis.
The Director's Words
«You here today for us was a ray of sunshine. Thank you on behalf of everyone,» said Nadia Fontana, director of the Rebibbia women's prison. The Pope was given gifts of garden produce cultivated by the 360 inmates, a rosary made with crochet and beads, and two stoles with the embroidered image of two hands holding a sunflower. Before leaving, Bergoglio left behind a painted image of the Madonna with child.
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