• Tuesday, 15 April: Way of the Cross in the Vatican Gardens

    The traditional Way of the Cross in the Vatican Gardens for employees of the Governorate, will take place during Holy Week, on Tuesday morning, 15 April at 8:15 a.m. The Way of the Cross will begin in the square in front of the Governorate and proceed towards the evocative backdrop of the Lourdes Grotto. Each station will be animated by a representative of each Directorate and Central Office, led by their respective Chaplains. The Via Crucis is organized by the Events Planning Office.

    It will be an opportunity to share a moment of prayer in preparation for Easter, in accordance with Pope Francis’ words in his message for Lent 2025:

    “God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs”.

  • Tuesday, March 24: Way of the Cross in the Vatican Gardens

    On Tuesday, March 24, at 8:15 a.m., the traditional Way of the Cross will take place in the Vatican Gardens for the employees of the Governorate. The procession will depart from the Governorate entrance square and conclude in the Lourdes Grotto. Each station will be led, as customary, by a delegation from each Directorate and Central Office, guided by their respective chaplain. The event is organized by the Events Coordination office.

  • Tulips planted in the Vatican Gardens in honour of Saint John Paul II

    Tulips were planted in the Vatican Gardens on Tuesday morning, 22 October, in memory of Saint John Paul II, on the day of his liturgical memorial.

  • Two Manna Ash Trees Planted in the Vatican Gardens

    In line with the Encyclical Laudato si’

    On the occasion of National Tree Day, Friday, 21 November, a Fraxinus ornus and a Fraxinus angustifolia—from which the traditional Madonie manna is obtained—were planted in the Vatican Gardens. Presiding over the ceremony was Archbishop Emilio Nappa, Secretary General of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, who emphasized that planting new trees to keep creation alive and respect the environment is fully in line with the principles set out in Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato si’. “It is even more so,” he said, “when the plants in question have a clear biblical reference.”

  • Vatican Gardens

    The Gardens have been the place of rest and meditation of Roman Pontiffs since 1279, when Pope Nicholas III (Giovani Gaetano Orsini (1277-1280) moved the papal residence from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican. Inside the new walls that he had built to defend his residence, the Pope had an orchard (pomerium) planted, a lawn (pratellum) and a true and proper garden (viridarium), as can be seen in a stone inscription now stored in the Sala dei Capitani (Hall of the Captains) at the Palazzo dei Conservatori at the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill). This first section was located near the hill of Sant’Egidio, where the Palace of the Belvedere is now located and the courtyard of the Vatican Museums. The area from where visits to the Vatican Gardens begin, instead, is a more recent part of the State, on which new larger Gardens were planted that, along with the original garden, cover half of the roughly 44 hectares that comprise the Vatican.
     
     

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