Pope Changes Foot Washing Rite

Pope Francis has changed the foot washing ceremonies on Holy Thursday to include women.  The change will take effect on Thursday, March 24th.  However, even before Pope Francis officially made this change, he already washed the feet of women in 2013. 

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CNN)Pope Francis has declared that women should be included in foot-washing ceremonies on Holy Thursday during Easter week, a move long awaited by Western women.

The Vatican announced the change Thursday, saying it will now be part of the Roman Missal, the book that guides Catholic liturgy throughout the world. It will take effect on Holy Thursday, March 24.
 

Previously, the Missal said that only males should participate in the foot-washing ritual, which memorializes Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet at the Last Supper.

 

But in a letter to the Vatican's head of worship and sacraments, the Pope said including women in the rite more fully expresses the meaning of Jesus' gesture at the Last Supper: "His giving of himself unto the end for the salvation of the world, his limitless charity."

 

"After careful consideration", Francis said, "I have decided to make a change to the Roman Missal. I therefore decree that the section according to which those persons chosen for the washing of the feet must be men or boys, so that from now on the pastors of the Church may choose the participants in the rite from among all the members of the People of God."

 

While some dioceses in the United States and elsewhere already allowed women to participate in the rite, many others did not, said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/21/world/pope-francis-women-ritual/