Umbrian Growers Donate 120,000 Olive Branches for Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican

Summary

Umbrian grow­ers donated 120,000 olive branches for the Palm Sunday mass cel­e­brated by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, con­tin­u­ing a col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Vatican that began in 2016. The ini­tia­tive, pro­moted by the national asso­ci­a­tion Città dell’Olio (Olive Oil Cities), aims to share a mes­sage of rec­on­cil­i­a­tion, sol­i­dar­ity, and hope through the emblem of peace rep­re­sented by the olive branch.

Umbrian grow­ers donated 120,000 olive branches for the Palm Sunday mass cel­e­brated by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday, March 29.

The ini­tia­tive, pro­moted by the national asso­ci­a­tion Città dell’Olio (Olive Oil Cities), con­tin­ues a col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Vatican that began in 2016. Last year, dur­ing the final Palm Sunday, presided over by the late Pope Francis, olive branches were donated by Rome and the other Olive Oil Cities of Lazio.

“The olive branch is an emblem of peace, and today, more than ever, it takes on a pro­found and rel­e­vant mean­ing. Our com­mu­ni­ties are com­mit­ted to play­ing an active role in shar­ing this uni­ver­sal mes­sage of rec­on­cil­i­a­tion, sol­i­dar­ity and hope,” Michele Sonnessa, pres­i­dent of the Olive Oil Cities, told Olive Oil Times. He attended the cel­e­bra­tion along with direc­tor Antonio Balenzano and a del­e­ga­tion of asso­ci­a­tion rep­re­sen­ta­tives.

The olive branches and twigs were col­lected by grow­ers from 15 Umbrian Olive Oil Cities — Arrone, Bevagna, Campello sul Clitunno, Foligno, Giano dell’Umbria, Giove, Lugnano in Teverina, Montecchio, Montefalco, Paciano, Spello, Spoleto, Trevi and Vallo di Nera — with the sup­port of their city coun­cils.

After being dis­trib­uted to those attend­ing the cel­e­bra­tion, the branches were blessed by Pope Leo at the begin­ning of the mass. In his homily, he appealed for a col­lec­tive com­mit­ment to peace and, reflect­ing on Jesus as the King of Peace, said that ​“He does not lis­ten to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

In Christianity, Palm Sunday is a mov­able feast that marks the begin­ning of Holy Week, which leads up to Easter. It com­mem­o­rates Jesus’ tri­umphant entry into Jerusalem, rid­ing a don­key and wel­comed by crowds wav­ing palm branches, as described in the four canon­i­cal Gospels.

In regions where palm trees are uncom­mon, the tra­di­tion evolved to include other native plants. In sev­eral Mediterranean coun­tries, olive branches were nat­u­rally adopted because they are abun­dant at this time of year, when most grow­ers carry out their annual prun­ing.

“For the grow­ers of the Umbrian Olive Oil Cities, this ini­tia­tive rep­re­sents a source of pride and an oppor­tu­nity to high­light their work,” said Rosanna Zaroli, coor­di­na­tor of the Cities of Olive Oil of Umbria, and national coun­cilor Isabella Burganti. ​“Bringing the fruits of our land here today means shar­ing a her­itage that speaks of care, respect and peace.”

Umbria is also a region where cul­tural tra­di­tions rooted in peace have long flour­ished. Assisi was the birth­place of Saint Francis, the patron saint of Italy, who is remem­bered as a peace­maker after rec­on­cil­ing the bishop and mayor of his time. Perugia is the home­town of philoso­pher and activist Aldo Capitini, known as the ​“Italian Gandhi,” who in 1961 launched the Perugia-Assisi Peace March, still a land­mark of Italy’s anti-war move­ment.