Every Easter Sunday thousands of flowers and plants from the Netherlands illuminate the Vatican as part of a nearly 40-year-old tradition. It all started in 1985 when Pope St. John Paul II visited Utrecht and saw these beautiful flower decorations.
The idea came that same year with the legacy of a Dutch priest who was beatified in Rome and more recently was canonized by Pope Francis in 2022.
DR. CHARLES LANSDORP
A Dutch priest, which is called Titus Brandsma was beatificated in Rome. So the question was to do a floral decoration in Rome. Then the idea came out why, it would be fantastic to do this with Easter. So in 1986 was the first time Dutch flowers and plants were in the square with Easter.
These flowers continue to decorate the Vatican, creating a beautiful scene for the faithful on Easter. It is a massive project that takes a lot of hard-work, especially from Dr. Charles Lansdorp, the coordinator of this event.
DR. CHARLES LANSDORP
Always, every year, we have to, of course, look at the theme and we started also with a main flower. Of course, you can imagine also, we need a lot of flowers, and we need also the sponsoring of the flowers from the growers. This year it is, for example, the Ranunculus. This is a very nice flower.
The blooming flowers and plants at The Holy See instill a feeling of hope and life during Easter. It is a wonderful tradition that will reach its 40th anniversary in 2026.
JH
