Saint Paul Flower Shops

Saint Paul MN News

Jul 26, 2018

Flowers and fireworks: How Rome celebrates its patron saints' day

St Paul the sword. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP And Caravaggio paired them in two of his most striking religious paintings, the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter, which hang opposite each other to this day at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo. They each have their individual feast days earlier in the year, but June 29th commemorates their deaths at the hands of the Romans – Peter's by upside-down crucifixion, Paul's by beheading – as well as their significance for Christianity in Rome and around the world. The Conversion of St Paul by Caravaggio It's a public holiday, but only in Rome The capital celebrates June 29th as an official holiday, so be prepared to find some shops and offices closed and transport running on a reduced schedule. But you can expect less disruption than you'd find on a nationwide holiday, with intercity transport operating as usual and most museums and visitor attractions remaining open. And if you work in Rome, you might even get the day off. The celebrations are solemn... As you'd expect, most of the festivities are concentrated in and around St Peter and Paul's twin basilicas. They start with special vespers at St Paul's on the evening of June 28th, followed by masses throughout the next day. The church concludes its celebrations with a solemn procession of the iron chains said to have held Paul as he awaited his death. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP In St Peter's, a bronze statue of the eponymous saint – the one kept on the right of the nave as you approach the main altar, and which has lost its toes to centuries of rubbing by pilgrims – is dressed for the occasion in full pontifical vestments, including the papal tiara and ring. The current pope celebrates a mass in St Peter's Square on the morning of the 29th (free tickets are required to attend), at which he blesses the pallium, a white woollen stole to be given to newly appointed archbishops as a symbol of the authority granted them by the Holy See. Photo: P. Darius Lebok OFM - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wiki...