There is a tradition in Rome on Pentecost Sunday. At the Church S. Maria ad Martyres, the Pantheon, at the end of Mass red rose petals are let fall in great abundance through the oculus, the dome’s "eye" which is completely open to the sky. Fireman from Rome’s fire department scale the exterior of the dome and let the petals fall.
Here are a couple shots of what it looks like inside the Pantheon when they do this.
Here is how the get it done!
Hangin’ out, waiting to drop the flower petals…
The moment arrives!
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Who took the pictures; they are wonderful! Thanks.
Ave Maria!
Thank you for the photos showing the falling of the red rose petals on Pentecost. I’ve been told, the same thing is done at S. Maria Maggiore for the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, using white rose petals.
God bless,
fr. Anthony
Reminds me of the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows at St. Mary Major, with the white petals falling from the ceiling during the glorious choral Magnificat at Vespers, with an avalanche at the Gloria Patri. The petals are blessed and people can take them. I happened to take a Catholic friend with me, who had never been to Rome before. Moved him to tears. (The whole liturgical experience at St. Mary Major and Catholic Rome. He said to me, “For the first time I feel connected to the saints across the centuries.” An emotional response, yes, but unforgetable and undergirding a real faith.
Bellissima! Wish I could be there!
Thank you so much for publishing those photos of Pentecost at the Pantheon. The view of all those petals falling inside the dome is breathtaking! I can only imagine what the effect must be from the ground.
I wish here in North America, where practicality seems to be all, we had some of that same sense of the whimsical.
“At the Church S. Maria ad Martyres, the Pantheon,”
Hi Father:
When I was in Rome back in January, I was surprised to find there was a Sunday morning Mass held in the Pantheon. I know the following questions are ignorant, but I really don’t know the answers. You mentioned the name, S. Maria ad Martyres, in the Pentecost article…is it the name of the parish that uses the Pantheon as its place of worship? Is it Dominican? Is Mass held every Sunday at the Pantheon?
Thank you very much. Your blog is wonderful and so informative! Thanks for all you do.
Marianne
“At the Church S. Maria ad Martyres, the Pantheon,”
Hi Father:
When I was in Rome back in January, I was surprised to find there was a Sunday morning Mass held in the Pantheon. I know the following questions are ignorant, but I really don’t know the answers. You mentioned the name, S. Maria ad Martyres, in the Pentecost article…is it the name of the parish that uses the Pantheon as its place of worship? Is it Dominican? Is Mass held every Sunday at the Pantheon?
Thank you very much. Your blog is wonderful and so informative! Thanks for all you do.
Marianne:
The Pantheon is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the Martyrs.
It’s a parish church.
I love the image of the rose petals coming down through the shaft of light. That is truly beautiful.
SMJ:
Thanks for the info!