During his pontificate — and his bishopric before that — Francis has made it a regular tradition to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass with the imprisoned.
Casal del Marmo prison was the first place Francis celebrated Holy Thursday Mass as pope just 15 days after being elected the bishop of Rome in 2013.
On the outskirts of Rome, only about 11 miles from Vatican City, Casal del Marmo is a juvenile detention center that holds young male and female inmates.
In 2013, Francis washed 12 young prisoners’ feet — those of two girls and 10 boys.
“This is a symbol, it is a sign — washing your feet means I am at your service,” Francis told the youth attending the Mass in 2013. “And we are [servants], too, among each other, but we don’t have to wash each other’s feet each day. So, what does this mean? That we have to help each other.”
In 2022, the pope offered Holy Thursday Mass at a prison in Civitavecchia, a port city about 50 miles northwest of Rome.