Pope Leo XIV celebrated Palm Sunday before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, according to multiple reports. He will preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum and celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St.
Peter's Square, delivering his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica, as reported by major media. On Holy Thursday, Pope Leo XIV washed the feet of 12 priests in the traditional ritual, returning the ceremony to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades, according to multiple sources.
The priests included 11 ordained by Leo last year and Rev. Renzo Chiesa, director of the Rome Diocese's primary seminary, as major media reported. This contrasts with Pope Francis, who revolutionized the ritual by including women and people of other faiths among the 12 from his first Holy Thursday as pope in 2013, according to major media.
According to The Independent - Main, Pope Francis described feeling brought back to the square. In a press conference, Pope Leo XIV emphasized the spiritual significance of the foot-washing ritual, as reported by major media.