Pope opens Holy Week by celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square

Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Palm Sunday Mass on Sunday, opening the Catholic Church's solemn Holy Week.

At the start of the celebration, Benedict blessed palms and olive branches with holy water and then processed through St. Peter's Square, wearing intricate, red- and gold-brocaded vestments and clutching a woven palm frond.

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and is the start of the church's most solemn week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Benedict reminded the faithful that during Holy Week, they would be recalling what …