countries of the West, a priest, or occasionally a lay figure, was led at the head, mounted upon an ass, in commemoration of Christ's entry into the citj- — a usage which still exists in some parts of Spain and Spanish America. Before the party returns to the church the doors have been closed, and certain strophes of the hymn are sung alternately by a choir within the church and by the pntccssion without, when, on the subdeacon's knocking at the door, it is again thrown open, and the procession re-enters. During the singing of the Pas- sion in the solemn mass which ensues, the congregation hold the palm branches in their hands, and at the con- clusion of the service they are carried to their respect- ive homes, where they are preserved during the year. At Rome, the Procession of the Palms, in which the pope has his place, is among the most striking of the picturesque ceremonies of the Holy Week. In the " Capelle Pontificie," the only authorized rubric of the mode in which these high ceremonies are to be con- ducted, is the following account of the ceremony of the palms : " Before describing the blessing of the palms, it is necessary to remember that the festival, the blessing and the procession of palms, was instituted for the solemn entrance of Jesus Christ into the city of Jerusa- lem, that by the faithful united it might not only be represented in spirit every year to the Christian multi- tude, but might also be renewed in some other mode. Besides this the Church wished to signify by this solemn ceremony the glorious entrance into heaven which the divine Redeemer will make with the elect after the general judgment." Seymour thus describes the ceremony : " The pope, as the vicar of Jesus Christ, and therefore his most suitable representative, is carried into St. Peter's, not indeed 'meek and lowly, riding upon an ass,' but seated in his chair, and carried on the shoulders of eight men. He is arrayed in all possible magnificence, preceded by the long line of bishops and cardinals in their robes of splendor, accompanied b\' all the high officers of state, and surrounded by the naked swords of his guardsmen. After he descends from the litter, and takes his place upon the throne, and has re- ceived the homage of each cardinal, as usual on those state occasions, the ceremonies peculiar to the day com- mence. Three priests, each carrying aloft a palm, de- scend from the high -altar, and slowly approach the throne. The pope receives them, reading over them a prescribed form of prayer, sprinkling them with holy water, and thus blessing them. Each cardinal, arch- bishop, bishop, prelate, ambassador, etc., then approach- es the throne, and on his knees receives a palm from the pope, which he accepts with the usual forms of kissing the hand, or knee, or foot of the pope, accord- ing to his rank, and then retires to his place. When every person is thus supplied, the procession of palms is formed ; the pope leaving his throne again, mounts his chair on the men's shoulders, and preceded by candles lighted, the choir singing, the incense burning — the whole column in their magnificent and many- colored robes moves down the aisle by one side of the high-altar, and returns by the other. Borne above all by the height of the litter, his holiness moves, the con- spicuous representation of ' the meek and lowly One.' As the procession moves slowly along, the splendor of the costumes, their brilliant colors, and their gold and silver brocade— the long array of mitres, and many branches of palms moving among them — the strains of sacred music from the choir, mingling with the heavy tramp of tlie guardsmen — the long and brilliant lines of military extending the whole length of the church, and the procession itself, with the pope lifted on high above all, and all this in the most magnificent temple in the world, presents to the eye a scene of pageantry most striking and beautiful, but wholly ineffective, be- cause unsuitable as representing the entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. AVhen the procession has end- ed, and the pope has returned to the throne, and the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, etc., have retired to
PALM-SUNDAY
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their places, the high mass is celebrated, and an indul- gence granted to all present, a special rubric being used on this occasion." Each member of the congregation carries home his branch, which is regarded as a charm against diseases. Some of these branches are reserved to burn to ashes for the next Ash-Wednesday. In Eng- land I'alm-Sunday anciently was celebrated with much ceremony ; but the blessing and procession of the palms was discontinued in the Church of England, to- gether with the other ceremonies abolished in the reign of Edward VI. (For the different ceremonies anciently observed on Palm -Sunday in England, see Walcott, Sacred Archmology^ p. 421-4'24; Brand, Popular Antiq- uities of Great Britain [see Index in vol. iii]. See also Collier, Eccles. Hist, ii, 241 ; Wheatley, Commentary on Booh of Common Prayer, p. 222.) At a recent observ- ance of Palm-Sunday by Komish churches in the dio- cese of New York, palms supplied from Charleston, S.C., were used. See Kiddle, Christian Antiquities ; Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. s. v. Palmsonntag. (J. II. W.)