Thirteen centenarian olive trees placed in the square; more than two-hundred thousand branches of olive trees distributed to the faithful; more than fifty-thousand sprigs of peach blossoms, thyme, myrtle, freesia, ranunculus and many more adorn the hemicycle by Bernini.
It is the decoration of Saint Peter square for last Sunday morning when, beginning at 9:30am, Benedict XVI and nine cardinals began tocelebrate Palm Sunday Mass, officially starting the Holy Week.
The evocative ritual recalls the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem when he was applauded by the cheerful crowd waving olive branches.
The ceremony relives a moment of triumph in the life of Jesus he enjoyed right before the arrest, the process and the humiliating death sentence via crucifixion. For this reason Palm Sunday opens the Holy Week which will continue on from Thursday with the Easter Triduum.
The Triduum comprises various evocative ceremonies from the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday to the Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum on Friday to the solemn Easter Vigil on Saturday night. On Easter Sunday, the Pope will give his address “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the City of Rome and to the World”) on worldwide telecast.
Following a tradition started in 1986 by John Paul II, Palm Sunday is also an occasion to celebrate the World Youth Day on a diocesan level. World Youth Day is celebrated worldwide in the presence of the Pope every the two or three years.
The last one was last August in Madrid, while the next one will be to Rio de Janeiro in the summer of 2013.
Every year, for the WYD, the Pope delivers a message to the young people of the world. This year’s is entitled “Rejoice in the Lord Always”, and has been released on the 27th of March.
In the beautiful text Benedict XVI asks young people, among other things, not to chase immediate goals and pleasures and not to buy into the logic of consumption that creates artificial happiness.
It invites them, instead, to construct a more just and human society, to become generous and above all to be aware that in these difficult times many of their peers have an immense need to feel that the Christian message is one of hope and joy.
“Christian joy – writes Benedict XVI in the message - is not a flight from reality, but a supernatural power that helps us to deal with the challenges of daily life.”
Young people from Rome, led by the vicar Agostino Vallini, prepared themselves for Palm Sunday with a vigil in Saint Peter square which begins the evening before at 6:30pm.
As always the olive branches for the Palm Sunday ceremonies are provided by the Puglia region, through various institutions, organizations and associations that collaborate to the enterprise.