Whose feet will the pope wash? This year’s list includes a Muslim and an Ethiopian woman

From Vatican Radio: 

For the second year in a row Pope Francis has chosen to celebrate the Mass of Our Lord’s Supper among people often pushed to the margins of society. He will once again visit the Don Gnocchi centre in Rome’s Casal del Marmo area, close to the Youth Detention Center where the Pope celebrated Mass among young prison inmates last year. This year he will be visiting a sister center for the elderly and disabled.

The Mass of Our Lords Supper commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and Christ’s mandate to the Apostles – the first ordained bishops and priests- to be at the service of God’s people. A moment that symbolizes this service is the Mandatum – or washing of the feet of twelve people.

Holy See Press Office director, Fr. Federico Lombardi has confirmed that this year the chosen twelve will include nine Italians, one Muslim from Libya, a young man from Cape Verde and an Ethiopian woman. All of whom have received help and support from the Don Gnocchi Foundation to overcome the difficulties, marginalization and isolation they often face on account of their age or a disability.

But why does Pope Francis seem to have a particular preference for the Don Gnocchi Foundation?

To find out more Linda Bordoni spoke to expert physicist Dr. Furio Grammatica*, who is the Chair of the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT) at the Don Gnocchi Foundation. She found out that with a chain of 30 healthcare and research centres specialized in rehabilitation throughout Italy, the Foundation embodies what Pope Francis has termed “moving out to the margins” in search and support of those people society has forgotten or discarded.

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