Palm Sunday - Polish traditions

Polish Palms

Palms throughout the world
see Catholic News Service

Throughout the world there are many traditions and ways of preparing palms, making palm crosses.  As well as the palms given out at the start of Mass and blessed by Bishop Michael Campbell at the start of the liturgy, one of our Polish families brought a decorated palm, to be blessed.  This is a tradition from Poland decorated with ribbons and flowers, a sign of new life, which we will celebrate at Easter with Jesus' resurrection. If readers know more about the Easter Palm then please get in touch to share more about this Polish custom.  
 

Bishop Michael Campbell
blessing palms

This year was a little different at the Cathedral, instead of the usual outdoor start to the Palm Sunday Mass, parishioners gathered in the Baptistery, Lady Chapel and surrounding area to have their palms blessed by Bishop Michael Campbell, who then processed round the Church as we sang our opening hymn to remind us of the crowds in Jerusalem calling out to Jesus 'Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'.