WATCH LIVE: Pope Francis washes the feet of the disabled for Holy Thursday

(RNS) This year the 12 people who will have their feet washed by Pope Francis include nine Italians, one Muslim from Libya, a young man from Cape Verde and an Ethiopian woman

(RNS) Pope Francis is participating in a Holy Thursday rite of foot-washing at a center for the elderly and disabled in Rome. Last year, Francis made a splash when he performed the same rite at a youth prison, including washing the feet of women and Muslims.

From a Vatican press release, here’s who Francis is washing the feet of today:


Fr. Federico Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office, has confirmed that this year the chosen twelve will include nine Italians, one Muslim from Libya, a young man from Cape Verde and an Ethiopian woman. These individuals are suffering with physical, neurological and oncological illnesses:

-Oswaldinho, 16, from Cape Verde who had a diving accident last summer and is now completely paralyzed

-Orietta, 51, from Rome who has suffered from illness that has affected her brain

-Samuel, 66, who has had polio from his youth

-Marco, 19, high school student and leader of his parish Youth Group who was diagnosed with a cerebral palsy last year

-Angelica, 86, from Maenza, former president of Catholic Action in Italy, had hip replacement surgery twice

-Daria, 39, who has suffered with cerebral palsy from her childhood

-Pietro, 86, who has been a resident at the Centre for a year, struggles with mobility and muscular deficiency

-Gianluca, 36, who from the age of 14 has had numerous operations as a result of meningitis

-Stefano, 49, who suffers with serious cerebral and motor disorder and has been a resident at the centre for the past two years

-Hamed, 75, Muslim man originally from Libia worked for the Itlian-Arab Chamber of Commerce before suffering a traffic accident which caused serious neurological impairment


-Giordana, 27, from Ethiopia suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy

-Walter, 59, living with Down Syndrome

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