Pope Leo XIV will officiate the service on Maundy Thursday, continuing Catholic traditions. He will wash the feet of 12 priests, in preparation for Easter.

Pope Leo XIV will lead the service on Maundy Thursday at the Vatican, marking his first service of this kind after the death of Pope Francis last year. At the papal archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the pontiff intends to wash the feet of 12 priests, a symbolic gesture of humility, unlike his predecessor who used to go to a prison to wash the feet of inmates. Leo XIV, the first American citizen to lead the Catholic Church, will personally carry the Cross on the Way of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum. On Easter Sunday, he will deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing in front of tens of thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square. Maundy Thursday, also known as Passion Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, an act of love and service. Good Friday marks the condemnation and crucifixion of the Savior, and Easter celebrates his resurrection.