Pope Francis modifies the rubric of the Roman Missal regarding the washing of feet

On Thursday, 21 January, it was
announced that Pope Francis ordered the modification of the rubric of the Roman
Missal regarding the washing of feet during Holy Thursday Mass, establishing
that the selection of participants in the Rite is no longer limited to men. The
Pontiff communicated his decision to Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Prefect of the
Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by way of a letter.
The following is an article written by the Archbishop-Secretary of the
Congregation on the occasion.

With the decree In Missa in cena Domini
the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, at
the request of the Holy Father, has readjusted the rubric of the Missale
Romanum regarding the washing of feet (p. 300 n. 11), variously linked down
the centuries with Holy Thursday and which, from the reform of Holy Week in
1955, could also take place during the evening Mass that begins the Paschal
Triduum.

Illuminated by the gospel of John the rite
carries a double significance: an imitation of what Christ did in the Upper
Room washing the feet of the Apostles and an expression of the self-gift
signified by this gesture of service. It is not by accident this is called the
Mandatum from the incipit of the antiphon which accompanied the action:
“Mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem, sicut dilexi vos, dicit
Dominus” (Jhn 13:14). In fact the commandment to fraternal love binds all the
disciples of Jesus without any distinction or exception.

Already in an old ordo of the Seventh
century we find the following: “Pontifex suis cubicularibus pedes lavat et
unusquisque clericorum in domo sua”. Applied differently in the various
dioceses and abbeys it is also found in the Roman Pontifical of the 12th
century after Vespers on Holy Thursday and in the Pontifical of the Roman Curia
of the 13th century (“facit mandatum duodecim subdiaconos”). The Mandatum
is described as follows in the Missale Romanum of Pope Saint Pius v
(1570): “Post denudationem altarium, hora competenti, facto signo cum tabula,
conveniunt clerici ad faciendum mandatum. Maior abluit pedes minoribus: tergit
et osculatur”. It takes place during the singing of antiphons, the last of
which is Ubi caritas and is concluded by the Pater noster and a prayer which
links the commandment of service with purification from sins: “Adesto
Domine, quaesumus, officio servitutis nostrae: et quia tu discipulis tuis pedes
lavare dignatus es, ne despicias opera manuum tuarum, quae nobis retinenda
mandasti: ut sicut hic nobis, et a nobis exterioria abluuntur inquinamenta; sic
a te omnium nostrum interiora laventur peccata. Quod ipse praestare digneris,
qui vivis et regnas, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum”. Enlightened by
the gospel which has been heard during the morning Mass, the carrying out of
this action is reserved to the clergy (“conveniunt clerici”) and the absence of
an instruction to have “twelve” would seem to indicate that what counts isn’t
just imitating what Jesus did in the Upper Room but rather putting the
exemplary value of what Jesus did into practice, which is expected of all his
disciples.

The description of the “De Mandato seu
lotione pedum” in the Caeremoniale Episcoporum of 1600 is more detailed.
It mentions the custom (after Vespers or at lunchtime, in a church, a chapter
room or a suitable place) of the Bishop washing, drying and kissing the feet of
“thirteen” poor people after having dressed them, fed them and given them a
charitable donation. Likewise this could be done to thirteen canons, according
to the local custom and wishes of the Bishop, who might choose poor people even
where it is the practice that they be canons: “videtur enim eo pacto maiorem
humilitatem, et charitatem prae se ferre, quam lavare pedes Canonicis”. This
meaningful gesture of the washing of feet, although not applied to the entirety
of the people of God and reserved to the clergy, did not exclude local customs
which take into account the poor or young people (e.g. the Missale
Parisiense). The Caeremoniale Episcoporum expressly prescribed the
Mandatum for cathedrals and collegiate churches.

With the reform of Pius xii which once more
moved the Missa in cena Domini to the evening, the washing of feet could
take place, for pastoral reasons, during the Mass, after the homily for
“duodecim viros selectos”, placed “in medio presbyterii vel in ipsa aula
ecclesiae”; the celebrant washes and dries their feet (the kiss is no longer
mentioned). This now goes beyond the rather clerical and reserved sense, taking
place in the public assembly with the direction for “twelve men” which makes it
more explicitly an imitative sign, almost a sacred representation, that
facilitates what Jesus did and had in mind on the first Holy Thursday.

The Missale Romanum of 1970 retained the
recently reformed rite, simplifying some elements: the number “twelve” is
omitted; it takes place “in loco apto”; it omits one antiphon and simplifies
the others; Ubi caritas is assigned to the presentation of gifts; the
concluding part is omitted (Pater noster, verses and prayer), as this formerly
took place outside of the Mass. The reservation solely to “viri” however
remained for mimetic value.

The current change foresees that individuals
may be chosen from amongst all the members of the people of God. The
significance does not now relate so much to the exterior imitation of what
Jesus has done, rather as to the meaning of what he has accomplished which has
a universal importance, namely the giving of himself “to the end” for the
salvation of the human race, his charity which embraces all people and which
makes all people brothers and sisters by following his example. In fact, the
exemplum that he has given to us so that we might do as he has done goes beyond
the physical washing of the feet of others to embrace everything that such a
gesture expresses in service of the tangible love of our neighbour. All the
antiphons proposed in the Missale during the washing of feet recall and illustrate
the meaning of this gesture both for those who carry it out and for those who
receive it as well as for those who look on and interiorise it through the
chant.

The washing of feet is not obligatory in
the Missa in cena Domini. It is for pastors to evaluate its desirability,
according to the pastoral considerations and circumstances which exist, in such
a way that it does not become something automatic or artificial, deprived of
meaning and reduced to a staged event. Nor must it become so important as to
grab all the attention during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, celebrated on “the
most sacred day on which our Lord Jesus Christ was handed over for our sake”
(i.e. Communicantes of the Roman Canon for this Mass). In the directions for
the homily we are reminded of the distinctiveness of this Mass which
commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, of the priestly Order and of the
new commandment concerning fraternal charity, the supreme law for all and
towards all in the Church.

It is for pastors to choose a small group
of persons who are representative of the entire people of God — lay, ordained
ministers, married, single, religious, healthy, sick, children, young people
and the elderly — and not just one category or condition. Those chosen should
offer themselves willingly. Lastly, it is for those who plan and organise the
liturgical celebrations to prepare and dispose everything so that all may be
helped to fruitfully participate in this moment: the anamnesis of the “new
commandment” heard in the gospel which is the life of every disciple of the
Lord.

Arthur Roche