Pope Francis received some 20 inmates at his home in the Vatican on Monday. What the Argentine prelate discussed with his visitors has not been disclosed.
The 84-year-old pope received the prisoners of a detention centre on the outskirts of Rome at the Casa Santa Marta. He has lived there since he was elected pope in 2013.
Francis has previously made it a habit to wash and kiss the feet of prisoners on the eve of Good Friday. His predecessors chose priests’ feet and washed them in one of the great churches in the Italian capital.
The current pope’s choice refers to Jesus’ humility and servitude to his apostles on the eve of his death.