2023-05-28 16:10:00
May 28, 2023 / 9:10 a.m.
As every year on the Solemnity of Pentecost, hundreds of people wait early in the morning for their turn to enter the Pantheon in Rome and contemplate the beautiful “rain” of rose petals.
Agrippa’s Pantheon is one of the most emblematic temples of the Eternal City. It was built in the year 27 BC and was the main place of worship dedicated to the pagan gods of ancient Rome.
In the year 608, Pope Boniface IV transferred the bones of the martyrs from the catacombs to this temple, and that is how it became the Basilica of Santa María de los Mártires.
Undoubtedly, what most attracts the attention of this temple is its incredible architecture and the large central hole located in the vault from where, every day of Pentecost, it rains thousands of red rose petals as a symbol of the coming of the Holy Spirit about the Virgin Mary and the Apostles.
Come Holy Spirit!
Incredible rain of petals in the Pantheon. pic.twitter.com/jXsqaieQ3t— Almudena Martínez-Bordiú (@AlmuMBordiu) May 28, 2023
This beautiful tradition takes place around 12 pm (Rome time) after a Mass, this year celebrated by Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Milley.
At the end of the ceremony, the firefighters of the city of Rome dropped the thousands of petals from above, making those lucky enough to witness this extraordinary event shudder at such beauty.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú is a Spanish journalist, correspondent for ACI Prensa in Rome and the Vatican, with four years of experience in religious information.
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