Every year I enjoy covering big events at the Vatican. Aside from my job as a journalist who needs to cover the event and worry about the significance of the Homily and the health of the Pope, I enjoy the show. The Vatican knows how to put on visually dramatic, spectacularly colorful, deeply meaningful performances.
Palm Sunday is one of those occasions. For the Catholic church it marks the moment when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem riding on a donkey and the adoring crowd places palm fronds and olive branches in his path.
This morning as I stood and filmed the event with APTN cameraman Paolo Lucariello on Bernini’s Colonnade, high above St. Peter’s Square, we watched Pope Benedict XVI in an open Pope-Mobile follow a long procession of faithful with palm fronds, and olive branches.
The Cardinals were carrying Parmureli, 2.5 meters (roughly 8 feet) high braided palm fronds. The three strands in the braid are intended to signify the Trinity– The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
Interestingly, from my perch high above the square, I had time during the three hour mass to chat about the elaborate outfits with Robert Duncan from Catholic News Service who is well-informed on what Cardinals, Deacons and Popes wear. He explained that the use of the Cardinals 3-peaked biretta hat is coming back in use in a return to pre-Second Vatican Council tradition. Robert also pointed out to me that the deacons were wearing the traditional Roman fiddleback chasuble, also a return to the Roman style that preceded the council. It is known that Pope Benedict XVI prefers the more traditional clothing.
While the Cardinals are seated below the photographers, cameramen and TV producers peer down at them from the colonnade. We have to spend the whole Mass on our feet. Here is my copy of the Homily and my notebook that I left on the balustrade as I watched events below.
The Vatican press office gave us the homily translated in six different languages today (French, English, German, Spanish, Portugese and Polish). This is useful for me because I can follow the Pope as he delivers it in Italian but then find the soundbite that I need for my news report already translated into English.
Here is my view in a photo I took with my blackberry. Obviously the cameraman can zoom in for a much better shot.
This week there are several more evocative Vatican events that AP television will be covering: the foot-washing mass on Holy Thursday when the Pope washes the feet of twelve priests, the Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum where a candle-lit procession takes the cross through the ancient roman monument while recounting the last hours of the life of Jesus, the Easter vigil at the Vatican, and finally the flower-filled Easter Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s Square.
Great photos and insider’s view!!! Any Mamma-relevant commentary from the Pope?
Very interesting glimpse into the Palm Sunday services and pageantry at the Vatican and the work and pleasures of a journalist covering it all. I like the shot of your notebook and glasses on the table as well. Brings a degree of immediacy!
Great stuff as usual Trisha!!
L/P/J
Thank you Dad!! “Pageantry” was the word my brain was hunting for yesterday and could not find. Thank you for providing it. Yes indeed, the Vatican provides pageantry. I am also glad you liked the picture of my notebook and copy of the Pope’s homily. I debated whether to put it in because it was not part of the show, but it does give a glimpse into my role there.
Hmmm. The Vatican is not very Mamma-oriented in the sense that the only Mamma that gets much attention is the Madonna and she is a very high standard for any Mamma to live up to. Just think — no sex and always saintly. There are some mamma and non-mamma female saints that are worth mentioning. I was helping Caterina with an essay for her confirmation class on Saint Catherine of Siena. You would be intrigued by her, she was a fascinating, determined woman who wrote hundreds of letters, communicated with Popes and Kings and gained a reputation for “speaking truth to power”. She worked tirelessly for peace among the warring city-states of Tuscany and Umbria, and helped the sick and poor. She died from what is referred to as “anorexia mirabilis” a form of anorexia that deeply religious women said they had a miraculous lack of appetite and could live without eating. Eventually I will do a post on Saint Catherine of Siena.