ROME — Pope Leo XIV washed and kissed the feet of twelve priests during the Holy Thursday Mass at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome's historic center.

Leo XIV is the first American pope. Eleven of the twelve priests whose feet were washed had been ordained the previous year by him when he was Cardinal Robert Prevost, a Vatican official.

Catholic Holy Week rituals include the Palm Sunday procession, the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the Way of the Cross on Good Friday, and the washing of the feet. During the washing of the feet ritual, which takes place partway through the Holy Thursday Mass, twelve people take seats near the altar, remove their shoes and socks, and a priest kneels, washes their feet with a cloth, and kisses them.

Leo XIV's predecessor, Pope Francis, had traveled to prisons in Rome on Holy Thursday throughout his papacy, washing the feet of people incarcerated there. Leo XIV held the ceremony at the Basilica of St. John Lateran — the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome — and selected priests rather than laypeople or inmates.