The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee celebrated Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week and is the final Sunday before Easter, by explaining the tradition of distributing palm fronds.

“When the people heard that Christ was coming and “they took out palm branches and went out to meet him and cried out ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, [even] the king of Israel,’” the diocese posted online, citing John 12:13. 

“It was a tradition to spread palms before a king as he processed into his city. It was a way to welcome him, to show him glory and homage,” it wrote. “Thus, Christ, the true King, was welcomed into Jerusalem.”

Palm Sunday marks the first day of Holy Week and is the final Sunday before Easter, Britannica says. Those who attend Palm Sunday Masses typically receive palm leaves, which many members of the Church keep all year, until they are burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday the next year. 

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) designated a section from Luke 22 for the Gospel reading for Palm Sunday this year. 

The passage begins with the Last Supper, where Jesus broke bread with his apostles. It was during the Last Supper that Jesus instituted the Eucharist, telling his disciples that the bread was his body, and the wine was his blood, which would be shed for them.

He then tells the disciples he knows one of them will betray him. Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives, but the disciples fell asleep while Jesus was praying. He prayed so fervently that "his sweat became like drops of blood." The passage goes on to describe Judas' betrayal, Jesus' arrest and trial before Pilate, and finally, Jesus' crucifixion. 

Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass in Rome, according to the Vatican.

In his homily, Pope Francis pointed out that those surrounding Jesus leading up to his crucifixion kept encouraging him to "save himself.” 

"Against this self-centered mindset is God’s way of thinking. The mantra 'save yourself' collides with the words of the Savior who offers his self," the pope said. 

Pope Francis went on to emphasize the significance of the fact that as he was being crucified, Jesus asked God to forgive his persecutors. The pope connected this forgiveness to the way that God is willing to forgive us for all of our sins.