Pope Leo’s homily at Holy Thursday evening Mass
Basilica of Saint John Lateran – 2 April 2026
Holy Thursday Gospel (John 13:1-15)
It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.
They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’
When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
Pope Leo’s Homily
Dear brothers and sisters,
We cross this threshold not as mere spectators or out of habit, but as guests personally invited by Jesus to the Supper, where bread and wine become the sacrament of salvation for us. Indeed, we are taking part in a banquet at which Christ, “having loved his own who were in the world, loved them to the end” (John 13:1).
His love is both gesture and a nourishment for all, revealing the justice of God.
In a world where evil abounds, Jesus loves definitively — forever and completely.
During the Last Supper, Jesus washes the feet of his apostles and says: “I have set an example for you, so that you will do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).
This gesture of the Lord is inseparable from the table to which he has invited us.
This action is a concrete example that stems from the sacrament. While it reveals the meaning of the Eucharistic mystery, it also entrusts us with a task—a mission that we are called to embrace as nourishment for our lives.
John the Evangelist uses the Greek word ‘upódeigma’ to describe the event he witnessed; it means “that which is shown before your eyes.”
What the Lord shows us — taking the water, the basin, and the towel — is far more than a moral example. He entrusts us with his very way of life.
The washing of the feet encapsulates the revelation of God, an unmistakable sign of the Word made flesh.
By becoming a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory and overturns the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience.
Even human pride cannot remain blind to what is taking place, along with the silent astonishment of his disciples.
Like Peter, who initially resisted Jesus’s initiative, we must repeatedly learn that God’s greatness differs from our conception of greatness because “we systematically desire a God of success, not of the Passion.”
Pope Benedict XVI candidly acknowledges that we are always tempted to seek a God who “serves” us, who grants us victory, and who is useful like wealth or power.
Yet, we fail to perceive that God serves us through the humble and gratuitous gesture of washing feet.
This is the true omnipotence of God.
In this way, his desire to devote himself to those whose very existence depends upon his gift is fulfilled. Out of love, the Lord kneels to wash each one of us, and his divine gift transforms us.
Indeed, through this act, Jesus purifies our image of God, freeing it from the idolatry and blasphemy that have distorted it. He also purifies our image of humanity.
We tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, and great when we inspire fear.
In contrast, as both God and man, Christ offers us an example of selflessness, service, and love. We need his example to learn how to love not because we are incapable, but to teach ourselves and one another what true love is.
Learning to act like Jesus—the living sign that God placed in the world’s history—is a lifelong task.
He is the true measure, the “Teacher and Lord” (John 13:13), who strips away all divine and human masks. He sets an example not when everyone is content and devoted to him, but on the night he was betrayed, in the darkness of misunderstanding and violence.
This makes it clear that the Lord’s love comes before our goodness or purity. He loves us first and, through that love, forgives and restores us.
His love is not a reward for accepting his mercy. Instead, he loves us and cleanses us, enabling us to respond to his love.
Let us learn from Jesus about this kind of reciprocal service.
He does not ask us to repay him, but rather, to share his gift with one another: “You also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).
As Pope Francis once remarked, this is “a duty that comes from my heart.” I love it. I love it, and I love doing it because that is what the Lord has taught me to do.”
He was not speaking of an abstract imperative or a formal, empty command, but rather expressing his heartfelt obedience to the charity of Christ, the source and model of our own charity. The example given by Jesus cannot be imitated out of convenience, reluctance, or hypocrisy, but only out of love.
Therefore, allowing ourselves to be served by the Lord is the necessary condition for serving as he did. Jesus told Peter “Unless I wash you,, you have no part in me” (John 13:8). Unless you accept me as your servant, you cannot truly believe in or follow me as Lord.
By washing our bodies, Jesus purifies our souls. Through him, God has shown us an example—not of domination, but of liberation; not of destruction, but of creation.
As humanity is brought to its knees by countless acts of brutality, let us kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed.
By doing so, we follow the Lord’s example and fulfill what we have heard in the Book of Exodus: “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you” (12:14).
Indeed, biblical history culminates in Jesus, the true Passover lamb. Through him, the ancient figures find fulfillment because Christ the Savior accomplishes the Passover of humanity. He opens the way for all to pass from sin to forgiveness and from death to eternal life. “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:24).
This evening, by renewing the Lord’s gestures and words, we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and Holy Orders.
The close connection between these two sacraments reveals Jesus’s perfect self-gift as the High Priest and the living, eternal Eucharist.
In the consecrated bread and wine, we find a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, and a bond of charity. It is a paschal banquet in which we receive Christ, our minds are filled with grace, and we are given a pledge of future glory.
Through bishops and priests, who are constituted as “priests of the New Covenant” according to the Lord’s command, the sign of his charity towards the entire People of God is made present.
Beloved brothers in the priesthood, we are called to serve the People of God with our entire lives. Holy Thursday is therefore a day of fervent gratitude and authentic fraternity.
May this evening’s Eucharistic adoration, in every parish and community, be a time to contemplate Jesus’ gesture of kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate his service with the same love.
