1 / 13 Kissing Prisoners' Feet

A mere two weeks after he was announced as pontiff, Francis washed and kissed the feet of 12 prisoners incarcerated in Rome as part of the traditional Holy Thursday rite. The unorthodox component of the ceremony was the <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/03/29/pope-francis-includes-women-muslims-for-first-time-in-holy-thursday-rite/" target="_hplink">inclusion of two women,</a> one of whom was a Muslim. This show of acceptance and compassion was just a hint at what was to come, as the pope has continued to make statements about the importance of interfaith understanding as well as the importance of a greater role for women in the church. Francis sent personal <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pope-francis-id-ramadan-greetings_n_3695752" target="_hplink">Eid al-Fitr holiday greetings</a> to Muslims around the world, rather than relying on his office to do so in a show of care and good will that hasn't happened since Pope John Paul II sent a similar personal message in 1991.