Pope Francis kisses the foot of a prisoner at the Casal Del Marmo Youth Detention Centre during the mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday, March 28 in Rome, Italy.
Pope Francis washes prisoners' feet
02:44 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

The week leading up to Easter is called Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday, but each day in between comes with its own name and celebrations.

Today, for example, is Maundy Thursday. In the Bible, this is the day when the Last Supper takes place, and it marks the moment that Jesus established the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is now part of every mass. The Last Supper also included a ceremony in which he washed the feet of his disciples. It marks the foundation of the priesthood.

Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper."

The day gets it name from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning commandment.

It is a reference to what Jesus tells his disciples during the Last Supper: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34, Revised Standard Version).

Maundy Thursday is considered a somber time in the Christian faith for all denominations of the religion, including the Catholic and Protestant traditions. Following the Last Supper and the original Eucharist, Jesus would be betrayed by Judas. Despite the celebratory nature of Palm Sunday, which marks the start of Holy Week and is when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, Holy Thursday represents the steps leading to the crucifixion.

In the Catholic Church, Pope Francis continues the tradition of the Eucharist by traveling outside of Rome to the town of Velletri, where he will wash the feet of prisoners at a prison there in honor of Maundy Thursday Francis has frequently chosen to wash prisoner’s feet on this day in order to demonstrate his willingness to serve the farthest margins of society.

Pope Francis kisses the feet of a prisoner at the Casal Del Marmo Youth Detention Centre during the mass of the Lord's Supper on March 28, 2013 in Rome, Italy.

Maundy Thursday falls before Good Friday, a day when the church commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus at Golgotha, in Jerusalem, which is also known as the Place of the Skull.

This piece was first published in 2019