By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, April 2 (Reuters) - Pope Leo washed the feet of 12 priests on Thursday as part of a special ritual before Easter and said the action, emulating a gesture of humility by Jesus on the night before he died, should inspire Catholics to care for those in need.
"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," said Leo, the first U.S. pope, who in recent weeks has emerged as a sharp critic of the Iran war.
"God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate," said the pope, before bending down to pour water over the feet of the 12 men, one by one, before drying and kissing each one.
Leo, who became pope last May, was leading a service for Holy Thursday, the first of four event-filled days leading to Easter on Sunday.
The ritual was held at Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran, the pope's cathedral church, in a change from recent tradition.
The late Pope Francis preferred to hold the service outside churches, usually in prisons, homes for the elderly or hospices, continuing a practice he began as a bishop in Argentina.
Last Easter, as he was recovering from double pneumonia and days before he died, Francis made a surprise visit to Rome's Regina Coeli, one of Italy's most overcrowded prisons, to offer well-wishes to the inmates.
Vatican officials said Leo decided to wash the feet of priests this year to show support for Catholic clergy, who often work long hours and lead more than one parish.
The pope also dedicated his monthly prayer intention for April to priests, asking the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to pray that God would care for and encourage them.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee;Editing by Alison Williams)
