Pope Leo XIV calls for prayer, solidarity as humanity faces 'acts of brutality'

Pope Leo XIV presides over the Mass of the Lords Supper for Holy Thursday at St. John Lateran archbasilica in Rome, on April 2, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) 

MANILA — Pope Leo XIV rallied the faithful to prayer and solidarity as "humanity is brought down to its knees by so many acts of brutality."

The Pontiff made this call in his Homily on Maundy Thursday during the Mass of the Lord's Supper, which commemorates Jesus Christ's Washing of the Feet of the 12 Apostles.

"As humanity is brought to its knees by so many acts of brutality, let us too kneel down as brothers and sisters alongside the oppressed," he said before the fateful gathered at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

The Mass marked the entry into the Holy Triduum of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. 

Leo emphasized that the Washing of the Feet is not just an example of the service Christ teachers, but the way of life he wants humanity to live.

"What the Lord shows us — taking the water, the basin and the towel — is far more than a moral example. He entrusts to us his very way of life," Leo said.

"The Washing of the Feet is a gesture that encapsulates the revelation of God: an exemplary sign of the Word made flesh, his unmistakable memorial. By taking on the condition of a servant, the Son reveals the Father’s glory, overturning the worldly standards that so often distort our conscience," he said.

Referencing a past homily of Pope Benedict XVI, Leo also reminded the faithful that God's idea of greatness is not the same as man's.

"These words of Pope Benedict XVI candidly acknowledge that we are always tempted to seek a God who 'serves' us, who grants us victory, who proves useful like wealth or power. Yet we fail to perceive that God does indeed serve us through the gratuitous and humble gesture of washing feet."

"We need his example to learn how to love, not because we are incapable of it, but precisely to teach ourselves and one another what true love is. Learning to act like Jesus — the living sign that God has placed within the history of the world — is the work of a lifetime. " Leo said.

The occasion also commemorated the institution of the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and of the Holy Orders. 

"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, kneeling as he did, and to ask for the strength to imitate his service with the same love."

During the same Mass, Leo washed the feet of 12 priests from the Diocese of Rome, 11 of whom Leo ordained himself, with the twelfth being the spiritual director of the Pontifical Roman Major Seminary.

The Pontiff is also expected to preside over the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord and the Way of the Cross on Good Friday.