Approximately 65,000 flowers and 120,000 olive branches decorated St. Peter's Square for Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Vatican. These decorations are gifts from Italy and the Netherlands, as has been the tradition for four decades.
[Enjoy the photo gallery at the end of the article.]
For Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, 120,000 olive branches were distributed to the faithful attending the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter's Square on March 29. These olive branches are a gift from the Umbria regional delegation of the National Association of Olive Oil Cities.
Phoenix palm fronds, a gift from the Neocatechumenal Way, will also be used during the celebration. "The traditional palmurelli will also be present," the governorate stated. Acquired by Vatican City State, these hand-braided palm fronds decorated St. Peter's Square.
On Easter Sunday, Vatican Square was covered with a mantle of more than 65,000 flowers from the Netherlands. These plants are a gift to the Holy See from Dutch florists and decorators.
The Vatican detailed the composition of the flowerbeds: “65,000 tulip bulbs, daffodils, hyacinths and mini-daffodils; 220 white and orange violets; 7,800 flowers, including roses, delphiniums, anthuriums, chrysanthemums, gerberas, and mathiolas; 600 branches of plumosa; 80 azaleas and 600 long branches of willow catkins, long branches of eucalyptus, as well as various types of foliage.”
All these plants left for Rome on March 31, after being blessed by Bishop Johannes Harmannes Jozefus van den Hende of Rotterdam, president of the Dutch Bishops' Conference.
For 40 years, the Netherlands has offered flowers to the Holy See for Easter. In November 1985, during the beatification of St. Titus Brandsma, Dutch florists offered thousands of flowers to the Vatican to beautify the celebration. They were invited to do the same for the following Easter, before this practice became a tradition.
Read about St. Titus below:
