Pope marks Holy Thursday ahead of prison feet-washing ritual

Pope Francis has celebrated a Mass to mark Holy Thursday, hours before he travels to an Italian prison to perform a foot-washing ritual for a dozen inmates

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica to mark Holy Thursday, hours before he was expected at an Italian prison to perform a foot-washing ritual for a dozen inmates in a gesture of humility.

Attending the Mass were some 1,800 priests. Francis in his homily advised priests not to focus on worldly concerns such as power, planning and bureaucracy. He exhorted them to “serve, with a clear conscience, the holy and faithful people of God.”

Francis made no reference to decades of scandals involving priests who sexually abused children and were often transferred from parish to parish by bishops who tried to avoid embarrassment rather than protect minors.

In the afternoon, the 85-year-old Francis is expected at a prison in Civitavecchia, a port town 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Rome, for the foot-washing ceremony which recalls Jesus’ gesture of humility for his apostles.