Vatican City, 21 January 2016 (VIS) –
The Holy Father has written a letter, dated 20 December 2014 and published
today, to Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in which he
decrees that from now on, the people chosen for the washing of the
feet in the liturgy of Holy Thursday may be selected from all the
People of God, and not only men and boys.
The Pope writes to the cardinal that he
has for some time reflected on the "rite of the washing of the
feet contained in the Liturgy of the Mass in Coena Domini, with the
intention of improving the way in which it is performed so that it
might express more fully the meaning of Jesus' gesture in the
Cenacle, His giving of Himself unto the end for the salvation of the
world, His limitless charity".
"After careful consideration",
he continues, "I have decided to make a change to the Roman
Missal. I therefore decree that the section according to which those
persons chosen for the Washing of the feet must be men or boys, so
that from now on the Pastors of the Church may choose the
participants in the rite from among all the members of the People of
God. I also recommend that an adequate explanation of the rite itself
be provided to those who are chosen".
The Congregation for Divine Worship and
the Discipline of the Sacraments has today published a decree on the
aforementioned rite, dated 6 January 2016, the full text of which is
published below:
"The reform of the Holy Week, by
the decree Maxima Redemptionis nostrae mysteria of November 1955,
provides the faculty, where counselled by pastoral motives, to
perform the washing of the feet of twelve men during the Mass of the
Lord's Supper, after the reading of the Gospel according to John, as
if almost to represent Christ's humility and love for His disciples.
In the Roman liturgy this rite was
handed down with the name of the Mandatum of the Lord on brotherly
charity in accordance with Jesus' words, sung in the Antiphon during
the celebration.
In performing this rite, bishops and
priests are invited to conform intimately to Christ who 'came not to
be served but to serve' and, driven by a love 'to the end', to give
His life for the salvation of all humankind.
To manifest the full meaning of the
rite to those who participate in it, the Holy Father Francis has seen
fit to change the rule by in the Roman Missal (p.300, No. 11)
according to which the chosen men are accompanied by the ministers,
which must therefore be modified as follows: 'Those chosen from among
the People of God are accompanied by the ministers' (and consequently
in the Caeremoniale Episcoporum No. 301 and No. 299 b referring to
the seats for the chosen men, so that pastors may choose a group of
faithful representing the variety and unity of every part of the
People of God. This group may consist of men and women, and ideally
of the young and the old, healthy and sick, clerics, consecrated
persons and laypeople.
This Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Disipline of the Sacraments, by means of the faculties
granted by the Supreme Pontiff, introduces this innovation in the
liturgical books of the Roman Rite, recalling pastors of their duty
to instruct adequately both the chosen faithful and others, so that
they may participate in the rite consciously, actively and
fruitfully".
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