Dutch flowers to adorn St. Peter’s Square during forthcoming Easter Mass and Urbi et Orbi blessing

On Easter Sunday, 31 March , tens of thousands of worshippers in St. Peter’s Square and millions across the world in front of their TVs will witness the celebration of Easter Mass, culminating in the traditional blessing to the city (Urbi) and the world (Orbi) given by Pope Francis. True to the tradition, Dutch flowers will bedeck the famous square. Gerbera, Rosa ‘Avalanche’ roses, Narcissus ‘Tête-à-Tête’, Delphinium, Bouvardia, Anthuriums, Forsythia and an extensive range of cut foliage will occupy pride of place.

For the third consecutive year, Berkel en Rodenrijs-based master florist Piet van der Burg will do the ‘scenography’ with the support of volunteering floral arrangers.

He and his team will begin preparing their flower arrangements on the grounds of Vatican City (the Vatican railway station to be precise) on Maundy Thursday. The event marks the 37th year the Dutch flower industry presents Vatican City with plants and flowers to adorn Saint Peter’s Square. In 2020 and 2021, Vatican City celebrated Easter without Dutch flowers due to the pandemic.

Yellow and white, the papal colours, will be the predominant in the floral installations which will be in place for the traditional Easter Mass on Sunday, 31 March in St. Peter’s Square.

In decorating Saint Peter’s Square, Piet van der Burg follows in the footsteps of Nic van der Voort who ‘opened the doors’ in the Vatican.

In 1985, the late Pope John Paul II embarked on a visit to the Netherlands. On that occasion, the Pontiff celebrated mass in Utrecht and Nic van der Voort, a florist from the city of Leiden, made the floral arrangements.

The Pope and his entourage were so delighted with the Dutch flowers that Van der Voort and his colleagues were asked to come over to Rome to provide an appropriate floral backdrop for the beatification ceremony of Dutch priest Titus Brandsma that same year. This is how the idea was born to deck out St Peter’s Square with Dutch plants and flowers at Easter.

Huge flower arrangements will decorate the immediate vicinity of the altar while smaller flower arrangements will deck the steps in St Peter’s Square. Occupying pride of place are the flowers adorning the Basilica’s balcony – aka loggia in Italian – from which the Pontiff will deliver his Easter Blessing

Many Dutch growers and wholesalers will supply the flowers. This year, the star of the floral extravaganza in St. Peter’s Square is the Gerbera. Summit Gerbera, an alliance of six large flowered and germini growers will send in a wide variety of gerberas in all colours of the rainbow, stylish ‘Avalanche+’ roses, Matthiola StoX and disbudded Chrysanthemums come from Meijer Roses, Evanthia/FlowerXL and Zentoo respectively. Vreeken Bouvardia and Peelen Anthuriums offer beautiful cut varieties. Delphinium nursery N.G. Wigchert from Noordwijkerhout is a long term sponsor catering for profusely flowering Delphiniums in three colours. Tak Global, Coloríginz / OZ Import have teamed up and will treat worshippers to Forsythia and cut foliage. A special mention is there for the Oskams from Voorhout who earned Papal recognition for their many years of relentless effort in supplying cheerful ‘Tête-à-Tête’ daffodils.

On Tuesday 26 March, a Van der Slot truck filled to the brim with fresh cut flowers, potted bulbs, trees and shrubs will depart from Keukenhof. The Bishop of the diocese of Rotterdam, Monseigneur Hans van den Hende will be on hand to bless the flowers before the head to the eternal city. Keukenhof visitors from many nationalities are anticipated to wave the floral consignment off.

Dutch TV channel KRO-NCRV will broadcast the celebration of Easter Mass live from 9.50am on TV channel NPO2. Precisely at midday the Pope will give his traditional Urbi and Orbi blessing.