“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (Jn 13:14-15)
On Monday, 20 October, His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, along with several other Eastern Catholic patriarchs, eparchs and priests, offered an evening liturgy of thanksgiving at the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter in the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
A large gathering of consecrated women and men, deacons, seminarians and lay faithful were present. They had traveled to Rome during the jubilee year to witness Pope Leo XIV canonize seven saints the day prior. Thousands of people had gathered in St. Peter’s Square and down the Via della Conciliazione for the canonizations. Included among the new saints was a martyred Armenian archbishop, Ignatius Maloyan, a victim of the Armenian genocide in 1915.
I reference these powerful events I was privileged to attend because on one side of the historic wooden chair — encased within Bernini’s bronze monument, completed in 1666 and recently restored with funding from the Knights of Columbus — is a bas-relief depicting Jesus washing the feet of his apostles (cf. Jn 13:1-17).
Permit me to suggest that as CNEWA prepares to enter its second century of service in 2026 — and St. Peter’s Basilica prepares to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its consecration — the great challenge is not a matter of magnificent structures, but rather of a renewed awareness of the fundamental call to holiness through servanthood and the daily washing of the feet of others.
Are we not called to learn from our past, to recognize our limitations and failures, to build on the extraordinary goodness and accomplishments due to our cooperation with God’s grace alone, and to keep our eyes fixed on the future?
Are we not called, as a papal organization, to expand the embrace of our mission, expressed metaphorically by the architectural “embrace” of the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square?
Are we not called, as we seek every opportunity to work ever more closely with the successor of Peter, to bathe the feet of those whom we serve in genuine solidarity, mingled with the tears of healing and hope? We are always servants of the source of all healing and hope, the Crucified and Risen Jesus.
Are we not called to renew our commitment and strategies to work with all those who wish to restore justice and peace to the very land where the Prince of Peace was born?
Pope Leo seems to hold great expectations for the Eastern churches. He expressed himself on this topic early in his papacy, when he spoke to participants at the Jubilee of the Eastern Churches in May:
“Who, better than you, can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence? Who, better than you, who have experienced the horrors of war so closely that Pope Francis referred to you as ‘martyr churches’? From the Holy Land to Ukraine, from Lebanon to Syria, from the Middle East to Tigray and the Caucasus, how much violence do we see!”
Permit me to conclude with three considerations:
1. During the Advent and Christmas seasons — and throughout the year — I invite you to join me in praying to the Holy Spirit, depicted as the paraclete in Bernini’s alabaster window, above the Chair of St. Peter. It is a reminder that the church remains under the powerful guidance of the Spirit since its beginnings. In prayer, let us also invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated in every culture and Eastern church, as well as in the Roman Catholic Church. May the Virgin of Nazareth illumine and guide us to become humble servants.
2. Let us make every effort to be informed and attentive servants. I invite you to be a regular reader of CNEWA’s website for news on our work, to sign up for our digital newsletter, to follow our social media posts, and to subscribe to ONE, our magazine with global reach and of the highest journalistic quality.
3. Thank you for the generosity of your donations. I hear from you and I know that, for many, these are difficult times. Only because of your generous donations are we able to continue to wash the feet of those for whom we have been given the mandate to serve. Thank you.
A final note: Please let me know if you can organize groups with whom I may speak about the mission of CNEWA. These conversations can happen through my visit to your community or online. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me to organize such groups.
With my gratitude and prayers as we open and mark CNEWA’s centennial!
President
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