Pope Francis Opens Easter Celebration with Colorful Array of Spring Flowers in St. Peter’s Square

On Saturday, trucks from the Netherlands delivered a colorful array of spring flowers to the Vatican square in Rome, Italy. The planters were quickly filled with orange-red tulips, yellow forsythia and daffodils, and other seasonal blooms.

The following day, Pope Francis returned to public view, presiding over Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. This was a day after unseasonably chilly weather in Rome convinced the recently ailing pontiff to skip Good Friday’s nighttime procession at the Colosseum.

On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis opened a celebration of Mass in St. Peter’s Square, joined by dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists. The square was filled with spring flowers, making the vast space bright. The interior of the basilica was then bathed in light, reflecting the Christian beliefs that Jesus rose from his death by crucifixion and that goodness can triumph over evil.

At the beginning of the Easter ceremony, Pope Francis sprinkled holy water and sounded the bells of the basilica. Tens of thousands of faithful are expected to join the pope in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Mass and to listen to his speech about conflicts in the world at the end of Holy Week. The 86-year-old pope is recuperating from bronchitis, which saw him recently hospitalized for three days.