Dorota Abdelmoula-Viet – Vatican
According to the calendar of papal celebrations, Leo XIV will first preside over the Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Holy Thursday at 9:30 a.m., and then at 5:30 p.m. the Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Lateran Basilica.
In the liturgy, which begins the celebrations of the Sacred Paschal Triduum, the rite of washing of feet (the so-called mandatum) is foreseen. According to tradition, 12 men participate in it, although – by virtue of the decree In Missa in Cena Domini, issued in 2016 by the will of Pope Francis, women can be included in this group.
As announced by the Vicariate of the Diocese of Rome, 12 priests will participate in the mandatum rite in the Lateran Basilica, whose feet will be washed by Leo XIV – the main celebrant of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. 11 of them are young priests whom the Pope ordained to the presbyterate in St. Peter’s Basilica on May 31 last year. The twelfth is Father Renzo Chiesa, spiritual director at the Roman seminary. One of the newly ordained priests, Father Gabriele Di Menno Di Bucchianico, discovered his vocation thanks to World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016.
