Palm Sunday in Città Sant'Angelo

 Holy Week, the week leading to Easter symbolizing the week before Jesus was crucified, has started in Italy.

 Here, Easter is an important social and religious event. The country is over 90% Catholic  and has been historically since the beginning of Christianity with the Apostle Peter starting the church, the murders of so many early Christians and eventually the large influence of the Pope (leader of the Church) over the centuries. In olden times when most people were illiterate, the priest was an important political person in the cities or towns. He vied as a witness for important business transactions, sales of property, taxes, construction of major buildings, marriages (that were often beneficial for both families) and births. Over time, as people became more literate with the increased opportunity for education, the priest became less of a political role.

The gallery (hallway) entering the church of Città Sant'Angelo

Easter traditions, however, continue to be an important part of the annual festivities. In smaller towns the traditions are stronger and more if not most of the community is involved. The larger the town or city, the less involvement you will find. What kind of traditions to they have? Well, some of it depends on the regional traditions. It all starts with Palm Sunday which goes like this:

Palm Sunday: This Sunday is different than all the others. In small towns, people make a procession  beginning in one part of the town and ending at the steps of the church. This procession recalls how Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and how the people (us) praised Him as their Messiah and used palm leaves to place on the ground where he walked. Here, when the procession ends the priest blesses the palm leaves or olive leaves that people hold. 

A man carrying an olive branch to get blessed and place in various parts of his home

Usually the woman of the house holds these and then places the leaves in an entrance of her families home.

During the mass you can notice that all the crosses are covered with a purple or red satin veil. Also, in small towns, you will see that the statue of the Virgin Mary is either dressed in black for mourning or is missing. 

On the far left standing you can sort of see the statue of the Virgin Mary dressed in mourning

The church was packed out on Palm Sunday!

In Città Sant'Angelo, here in the middle of Italy in the region of Abruzzo, they take the statue of the Virgin Mary dressed in mourning to a different church than the main one for Holy Week.

During the mass of Palm Sunday the priest reads about the week that Jesus went to Jerusalem, his arrest, torture and death. This is called “the Passion” and probably why Mel Gibson called his movie “The Passion of the Christ”. Anything associate with his death like the crown of thorns placed on his head or the heavy cross he lugged after getting beaten are called the “instruments of the Passion.” Why is it called passion? I wasn't quite sure for a while because I associated that word with a fiery love between lovers. In fact, it is similar with the passion of Christ: it demonstrates his intense love for us. Why did he die? Well, that is called the “mystery of death.” All sorts of mysteries! For me, coming from the US, some of the traditions and sculptures used during the passion were truly creepy. It took me some soul searching and contemplation to accept seeing statues of a really bloody and tortured Jesus in churches. I finally accepted looking at them without flinching as I realized that it was meant to be a reminder of how much he suffered in His death for us.

 Città Sant'Angelo is small, on a mountain and carries centuries of ecclesiastical traditions. I really like the priest there. He is a short fat man and not the kind that I thought could inspire you to think deeply or question your life, but he is! This man is great, speaks clearly during the message and finds a way to relate it to family life or things that threaten the family (divorce, lust, loving material objects). The city itself is pretty old dating back to the 13th century and the buildings are intact. This city is tiny and has so many small narrow streets streaming off of one small main street like veins. It is for sure an old fashioned city: only men hang outside of the coffee bar and there are still outdated signs on the church saying that the women should have their head covered with a mantel before entering. 

No girls allowed. Seriously, if you have to use the bathroom this is the only place and you better enter with your eyes looking at the ground and serious so they know you ain't lookin for love or trouble.

"The women cannot enter the church with their heads uncovered" Woah, they were serious!

If this were still true today I would wear my bridal veil to church, it is so pretty!

Back down the hill from Città Sant'Angelo we find ourselves back in Pescara where I have enjoyed a few walks, going to the beach to pick up sea shells, and hanging out with the cats.

I love the fiat 500 (try saying cinquecento "chin-que-chen-to" five times fast).

What do you do with a handful of seashells?

Show your love! Cheesy, I know. You know what I was thinking? That if I glued these in a shape of a heart they could look rather pretty as a wall decoration.

Sharing my seat with Fatty has it's price

 We look forward to the rest of Holy Week and hopefully I will have good internet connection to blog about the events!