Vatican News photo
A large-scale floral representation of Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms has been completed and unveiled in the Vatican Gardens, according to Vatican News.
The installation is on the slope in front of the Governor’s Palace, facing the apse of St. Peter’s Basilica. Visitors can view it annually from the dome of the basilica.
The Gardens and Environment Service of the Directorate of Infrastructure and Services of Vatican City State spent more than two weeks creating the display. Two gardeners worked daily to execute the design, which includes hundreds of colorful plants arranged in a mosaic-like formation.
The design maintains the same structural frame as Pope Francis’ coat of arms. A gold key and a silver key crossed over each other are tied with a red cord, and a mitre lies between them.
Specific plant species were used to represent each element:
- The mitre was made with Buxus sempervirens (dwarf boxwood).
- The gold key was formed using Euonymus aureus (variegated spindle), and the silver key with Helichrysum italicum (curry plant).
- The red cord was created with Iresine brillantissima (bloodleaf) in summer and Viola cornuta (horned pansy) in winter.
The papal shield is divided diagonally:
- The upper left quadrant features a white lily on a blue background, symbolizing the Virgin Mary. The background was made with 400 Ageratum (blue star) plants, and the lily with 50 curry plants.
- The lower right quadrant displays the emblem of the Order of Saint Augustine: a heart pierced by an arrow atop a book. This section used 400 Begonia semperflorens (nightlife begonia) plants. Bloodleaf formed the heart, and an image of a book is constructed of metal sheeting, red lava rock, and white gravel.
