The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square in Rome, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, June 29, 2025. / Credit: Hannah BrockhausRome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, with dozens of floral artworks created by master artisans and volunteers from across Italy. These floral works, rich in religious symbolism, decorated the spiritual heart of Rome as part of a new edition of the Infiorata Storica (Historic Flower Festival). Murals made of flowers adorned The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square, which was transformed on Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color. June 29, 2025. Credit: Hannah BrockhausThis year's 12th edition centered on the theme of the Jubilee of Hope, expressed through floral ...
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square in Rome, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, June 29, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Jun 29, 2025 / 12:50 pm (CNA).
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, with dozens of floral artworks created by master artisans and volunteers from across Italy.
These floral works, rich in religious symbolism, decorated the spiritual heart of Rome as part of a new edition of the Infiorata Storica (Historic Flower Festival).
Murals made of flowers adorned The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square, which was transformed on Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color. June 29, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
This year's 12th edition centered on the theme of the Jubilee of Hope, expressed through floral arrangements, each covering more than 500 square feet. The art works were made using dried flower petals, wood shavings, colored sand, salt, sugar, and natural pigments.
This year's 12th edition of the Infiorata Storica centered on the theme of the Jubilee of Hope, expressed through floral arrangements, each covering more than 500 square feet. June 29, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
Beginning on Saturday evening, June 28, teams of floral artists and volunteers worked overnight in an intense effort that concluded at 9 a.m. Sunday — just in time for thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul to admire the floral carpets in their full splendor.
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square, was transformed on Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color with dozens of floral artworks created by master artisans and volunteers from across Italy. June 29, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
A rich tradition reborn
This creative and spiritual gathering aims not only to beautify the city but also to preserve a deeply rooted tradition dating back to 1625, when Benedetto Drei, head of the papal florist's office, first decorated the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica with flowers.
The floral works, rich in religious symbolism, decorated the spiritual heart of Rome as part of a new edition of the Infiorata Storica (Historic Flower Festival). June 29, 2025. Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
Though the custom faded in the 17th century, it was revived in 2013. Today, the Infiorata has become an iconic event that combines art, faith, and culture.
Within the context of the liturgical celebrations led by Pope Leo XIV, the floral exhibition offered a symbolic path of prayer and hope, linking Rome with believers from around the world.
Credit: anonymous/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 30, 2025 / 15:47 pm (CNA).A coalition of 20 American Catholic bishops and religious leaders from other faiths has signed on to a letter urging lawmakers to vote against a proposed budget bill because of provisions to increase funding for immigration enforcement."From our various faith perspectives, the moral test of a nation is how it treats those most in need of support," the letter read. "In our view, this legislation will harm the poor and vulnerable in our nation, to the detriment of the common good."The letter's signatories included Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Phoenix Bishop John Dolan, Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne, St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, and Sacramento, California, Bishop Jaime Soto were also among those who signed.In addition to the bishops, other signatories to the letter included the lea...
Bethany and Daniel Meola, a married couple with a special heart for adult children of divorce, created the Life-Giving Wounds apostolate, currently celebrating its five-year anniversary in 2025. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Life-Giving WoundsMiami, Fla., Jun 30, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).Kendra Beigel was 14 years old when her family life took a turn for the worse. In her small-town Minnesota home, she was used to her parents arguing, but her family situation further disintegrated when her mother intervened in her father's alcohol issues and her parents went to court."It was like the whole town decided to take a side and get involved in our family business," recalled Beigel, who was raised Catholic. "I had to grow up quickly… Each stage of the initial separation and how it comes out of the blue, then the divorce and everything that it brings, and then the subsequent annulment; each brought its own hurts and difficulties and it never was easier."Now an adult, Beigel remembers thinkin...
The "Hall of Constantine" is Raphael's masterpiece, depicting Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Jun 30, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).After a decade of painstaking restoration, the imposing Hall of Constantine in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, which houses Raphael's masterpiece depicting Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, has been returned to its original splendor.This space, the largest of the well-known Raphael Rooms, was partially closed to the public in 2015 due to delicate conservation work that ultimately culminated in a result described as "exemplary" by Vatican Museums."In a way, we have rewritten the history of art," explained Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, during a June 26 presentation to the press held at the Vatican Museums. She was joined by Fabrizio Biferali, supervisor of the art department for the 15th and 16th centuries; Fabio Piacentini and Francesca Persegati fro...
The Via della Conciliazione, the grand avenue leading to St. Peter's Square in Rome, was transformed this Sunday into a vibrant tapestry of color laid over the asphalt, June 29, 2025. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus
