Do you know why the Palm Sunday Papal Mass (when we are not quarantined) starts at the obelisk in Saint Peter’s Square?

That obelisk was brought to Rome from Egypt by Caligula. It was placed in Nero’s Circus, just to the left of what is now Saint Peter’s Basilica.

When Peter was executed, this obelisk would have been one of the last things he saw.

Nearly 1500 years later, Pope Sixtus V wanted the obelisk moved to the center of Saint Peter’s Square. It’s a solid block of granite weighing 350 tons, not an easy task.

The pope had an architect draw up some plans for moving it. It was very complex with scaffolding, pulleys, and many men and animals. It took about six months to move it.

The architect would shout out orders during the process to make sure nothing went wrong along the way. He eventually sought the help of the Holy Father, because he realized too many people were making too much noise, and something could go wrong.

So the Holy Father brought a guillotine into the piazza and said anyone making a sound would be executed on the spot. This was back when the popes had personal executioners, so it didn’t really shock anyone.

While the obelisk was being lifted, the ropes started to break from the tension. A man in the crowd, a fisherman, knew from his years on boats, that when ropes got weak, water would strengthen them. Knowing he’d be put to death, he shouted out, “water the ropes!”

And they did just that. The water strengthened the ropes, and the obelisk was successfully lifted into place.

The man was then brought before the pope for his punishment. The Holy Father asked how he could reward the man for saving the obelisk. The man said his family had a palm farm and they would be honored if the Holy Father would use their palms for Palm Sunday.

To this day, 500 years later, the palms at the Papal Palm Sunday Mass still come from that same farm.

Oh, and then they killed the guy.

Not really.

But if you watch a Palm Sunday Mass, you’ll see that the Holy Father first processes to the obelisk where he is presented with the palms, and then he processes up to the main altar.