Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican with 20,000 faithful

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The Argentinian Cardinal Leonardo Sandri celebrated the liturgical celebration of Palm Sunday on Sunday morning in place of the convalescent Pope as the start of Holy Week. 20,000 believers had their olive branches blessed. The pilgrims gathered in Rome waved olive branches to greet them. These are reminiscent of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

he mightOfficially, the Pope will not be present at the Palm Sunday celebrations. However, it is not impossible that he might decide to show up at the last moment – either at the end of the mass or for the Angelus prayer. The Angelus prayer will be published as a written text, as on all Sundays since the Pope was admitted to hospital and since his release from hospital.

St. Peter’s Square decorated with flowers
A procession of around 100 young people, bishops and cardinals marched through St. Peter’s Square to the altar in front of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday. St. Peter’s Square is decorated with flowers. Thousands of chairs had already been set up for visitors in the days leading up to the celebration.

Around 1.7 billion Catholic and Protestant Christians around the world begin “Holy Week”, the highlight of the church year, on Palm Sunday. On the Sunday before Easter, palm branches are traditionally carried in the church procession, blessed with holy water and then placed behind crucifixes in homes. The Palm Sunday liturgy commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and marks the start of the liturgy for Holy Week.

Due to his health, it is still unclear whether 88-year-old Francis will take part in the Easter celebrations in any form. The Pope visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome unannounced on Saturday afternoon. He was pushed in a wheelchair to the chapel with the image of the Virgin Mary “Salus populi Romani” and laid down a bouquet of white roses in front of it. The Pope, who wore a nasal cannula to enable him to breathe better, was greeted by the archpriest of the basilica, Cardinal Rolandas Mackrikas.