During Thursday’s Easter Week Mass at a shelter outside of Rome, Pope Francis washed the feet of Muslim, Christian and Hindu refugees and declared them all children of the same God. The exercise was, of course, re-enacting the foot-washing ritual Jesus performed on his apostles before being crucified and was performed in stark contrast with the anti-Muslim rhetoric plaguing the world following the attacks in Brussels. While performing this gesture of service, the pope called the attacks a “gesture of destruction” that wanted to destroy the brotherhood of humanity represented by the migrants. “We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace,” Francis said in his homily. Several of the refugees wept as Pope Francis knelt down, poured holy water from a brass pitcher over their feet, wiped them clean and kissed them.
