New Pope 2013: Pope Francis Appoints Mario Poli as Archbishop of Buenos Aires
Pope Francis continues to make history by appointing a new archbishop two weeks after he was elected pontiff. He named on Maundy Thursday Bishop Mario Poli as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina, in effect replacing his former post.
The 66-year-old prelate was one of then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's auxiliary bishops in Buenos Aires from 2002 to 2008 and was appointed Bishop of Santa Rosa, a city in rural La Pampa province.
He holds a doctorate in theology degree from the Catholic University of Argentina but also has a degree in social work from the University of Buenos Aires. The archbishop was ordained a priest in 1978.
The archbishop was recently in the news for castigating a priest, Fr Jorge Luis Hidalgo, who posted a Facebook greeting on the birthday of Jorge Videla, the former dictator of Argentina.
Archbishop Poli described Fr Hidalgo's greeting as causing "confusion, sadness and a serious injury to the Church, and his expressions are far from who we are and our mission of love."
On the same day, Pope Francis celebrated the Washing of the Feet Mass at the Casa del Marmo, a juvenile prison with about 40 detainees where he performed the Mandatum or the Washing of the Feet on 12 minors, including two female prisoners.
"It is the example set by Our Lord, it's important for Him to wash their feet, because among us the one who is highest up must be at the service of others. This is a symbol, it is a sign - washing your feet means I am at your service. And we are too, among each other, but we don't have to wash each other's feet each day. So what does this mean? That we have to help each other...sometimes I would get angry with one someone, but we must let it go and if they ask a favor of do it!" Pope Francis said.
Below is the video of the Mandatum.
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