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Arundel Cathedral’s world-famous Carpet of Flowers returns this week, with more than 8,400 flowers used to create this year’s extraordinary floral display in the cathedral’s central aisle. Visitors are warmly encouraged with many hundreds of people expected to visit the flower festival over the three days. The cathedral will be open to visitors on Tuesday 28 May, to watch the carpet being laid, and on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May to view the completed design. The Corpus Christi Mass, Procession and Benediction, celebrated by Bishop Richard Moth, will take place at 5.30pm on Thursday.

The carpet takes almost a day to create, with the carefully chosen theme and layout agreed by the cathedral team many months in advance. The design of this year’s carpet is particularly poignant, with a focus on world peace. Keeping in mind conflicts taking place across the world, including in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, the design includes two white doves, with each dove holding an olive branch. Speaking about this year’s display, the Dean of the Cathedral, Fr Stephen Dingley, said: “Jesus spoke about His gift of peace—a peace which the world cannot give—at the Last Supper, when He also gave us the Eucharist. And to prepare for Holy Communion at Mass we offer one another the sign of peace. So it is very appropriate to remember this theme as we honour Jesus in the Eucharist in such a beautiful way.”

Arundel Cathedral has marked the feast of Corpus Christi with a festival of flowers for more than 140 years. The tradition was first introduced by Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the 15th Duke of Norfolk, who visited the village of Sutri near Rome in 1877 and saw the streets painstakingly carpeted in greenery for the celebration of a saint’s feast day. As a result, he decided to introduce the beautiful custom to Arundel, with Arundel Estate workers initially given the task of creating the intricate design. More recently, the carpet has been created by a large number of dedicated volunteers, the majority of whom are parishioners from Arundel and surrounding Catholic church communities.

The Carpet of Flowers will be supported by a number of additional floral arrangements, with flowers displayed in the baptistery at the entrance, and around the main altar and side altars. There is no need to book; refreshments are available in the nearby Cathedral Centre on Wednesday from 9am – 5pm and Thursday 9am – 4.30pm. To find out more about opening times and parking arrangements, visit the cathedral website.

‍Image: courtesy of @FocusPhotography