Instead of washing priests' feet in a symbolic gesture of humility on Holy Thursday, Francis will wash the feet of young inmates at a juvenile detention center in Rome.
The washing of feet on the Thursday before Easter is a Christian tradition dating back to the time of Christ.
BBC: Pope Francis to wash feet of prisoners in pre-Easter Mass
Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on Thursday next week by washing the feet of prisoners in a youth detention centre in Rome, the Vatican has said.
BBC: Pope Francis to wash feet of prisoners in pre-Easter Mass
"If someone is washing the feet of any females ... he is in violation of the Holy Thursday rubrics, " Peters wrote in a 2006 article that he reposted earlier this month on his blog.
"The pope's washing the feet of women is hugely significant because including women in this part of the Holy Thursday Mass has been frowned on and even banned in some dioceses, " said the Rev.
On Thursday, Francis will break with tradition by celebrating the Mass of the Lord's Supper, which includes the gesture of the washing of feet, at the Casal del Marmo youth detention center, the Vatican said last week.
But by washing the feet of women, he jolted traditionalists who for years have been unbending in insisting that the ritual is for men only and proudly holding up as evidence documentation from the Vatican's liturgy office saying so.
On Thursday, Francis will break with tradition by celebrating the Mass of the Lord's Supper -- which is centered on the gesture of the washing of feet -- at the Casal del Marmo youth detention center, the Vatican said.
To have excluded the young women from the ritual washing of feet ... would have detracted our attention from the essence of the Holy Thursday gospel, and the very beautiful and simple gesture of a father who desired to embrace those who were on the fringes of society.
The rite re-enacts Jesus' washing of the feet of his 12 apostles during the Last Supper before his crucifixion, a sign of his love and service to them.
The act of foot-washing is part of the Christian tradition that mirrors Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet.
The act of foot-washing at the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday is part of the Christian tradition that mirrors Jesus' washing of his disciples' feet.
Pope Francis will stage his feet-washing ceremony at Casal del Marmo on the afternoon of 28 March.
BBC: Pope Francis to wash feet of prisoners in pre-Easter Mass
Later, the Vatican released a limited video of the ritual, showing Francis washing black feet, white feet, male feet, female feet and even a foot with tattoos.
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