St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral had six women among the 12 selected for the "feet washing" ceremony.
St Joseph's Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram has always drawn huge crowds on important religious days. But what happened inside this 137-year-old monumental Goethic cathedral on Thursday was first in its history.
Maunday Thursday, or Holy Thursday, is a day when 12 people are selected in a church and their feet are washed by the priest himself, as an act of humility. A tradition, done in remembrance of Jesus Christ, where he washed the feet of his 12 disciples, before his death. But as tradition would have it, the 12 selected have since time immemorial always been male.
But for the first time in Kerala, few churches welcomed women to be part of this rite. St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral had six women among the 12 selected for the "feet washing" ceremony. Out of the six, four were nuns and two were differently-abled women. And it was head of the diocese, Archbishop M Soosaipakiam who washed their feet.
"It was fantastic to witness this. When Jesus Christ washed the feet of his disciples, he said - Do likewise. He never said do this to men only. Getting women involved in this rite, was actually experiences the love that Christ had for all human beings and not any select group. It reflects the true love and humility of God," Father Judith Pious, secretary to the archbishop told NDTV.
But it was Pope Francis' decree earlier this year that paved the way for this change. Pope Francis had decreed that women should be included in this rite, because it is for all human beings, and not only men.
Two Latin diocese churches in Thiruvanathapuram and Kochi brought this papal decree into practice, which is not mandatory.