The holy three days of Easter begin in Rome with the Holy Thursday morning Chrism Mass, during which Pope Francis leads the ceremonies for the first time since 2020 in the traditional locations, in the presence of the faithful. The head of the church will present the consecration mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday morning.

As the Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis consecrates the holy oils used in the administration of the sacraments: the chrism used at confirmation, as well as the oil for those about to be baptized and the sick. At the Mass, the bishop and the clergy of the diocese renew their priestly vows.

On Thursday afternoon, in memory of the Last Supper, the ceremony of washing the feet comes to life: unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis does not wash the feet of his fellow priests, but visits a different location every year since his election in 2013. He has already been to a hospital, a nursing home, and a migrant center.

This year, he will visit the Civitavecchia prison, located about seventy kilometers north of Rome, where he will wash the feet of twelve of the five hundred prisoners.

In 2013, Pope Francis washed his feet in the Casal del Marmo juvenile prison in Rome. In 2015 in Rebibbia prison in Rome, in 2017 in Paliano prison, then in 2018 in Regina Coeli prison near the Vatican.

On Maundy Thursday, the silenced bells in the churches of the world "arrive" in Rome. On the afternoon of Good Friday, the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord takes place in St. Peter's Basilica, and then, for the first time in two years, the traditional Via Crucis is held again at the Colosseum from a quarter past ten in the evening.

Last year and the year before last, Pope Francis led the Way of the Cross in St. Peter's Square, which was devoid of believers and completely empty. In 2020, inmates of a Padua prison carried the cross, last year they were young people. Now families take up the cross at the fourteen stations between the Colosseum and the opposite Palatine Hill.

At the first station, a young married couple carries the cross, the second is members of a missionary family, then an elderly childless couple, a family with several children, a family raising a disabled child, members of a family home, a family caring for a sick parent, two grandparents, a child an adopted family, a widow with a child and a family whose child chose the priestly profession.

At the penultimate station, the Vatican chose a Ukrainian and Russian family living in Rome, and at the fourteenth station, a migrant family. At 8:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday, the Pope will lead an Easter Vigil in the Vatican Basilica, during which the basilica's bells will ring again.

On Easter Sunday, the Pope will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square, and then deliver an Easter speech at noon, the traditional theme of which is peace. Finally, Urbi et Orbi gives a blessing to the city of Rome and to the world.

The Italian capital was full of visitors: on Palm Sunday, 65,000 people were already in and around Szent Péter Square.

Pope Francis' new book Against War - Courage to Build Peace will be published on Thursday, and it will be included in the largest Italian daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

In our opening image, Pope Francis says his traditional Sunday Angelus prayer from the window of his Vatican suite overlooking St. Peter's Square in Rome on February 20, 2022. Source: MTI/EPA/ANSA/Claudio Peri

Source: vasarnap.hu