He had a day of his life, flower arrangement artist Piet van der Burg of Berkel en Rodenrijs. This Easter, he presented the Sea of Flowers in St. Peter’s Square in Rome and met the Pope.
the meeting between flower artist Pope Francis did not last long. “After that he let us stand in line and the Pope came in. When it was my turn I wished him a happy Easter, then said in Italian: Thank you, flowers for you. Then he took my hand and thanked me,” he says proudly in broadcast west†
For the Catholic van der Burgh, the meeting was very emotional. “You feel warm and grateful. (…) If you can decorate St. Peter’s Square with flowers and also get to know the Pope, this is really the top. In our team there were also non-religious people and they were also very impressed. “
This was the first time that he and his team were allowed to decorate the square in front of the basilica as principal curator. “A unique opportunity,” he says. “A lot of people aren’t allowed to do that. They have asked me to keep doing it for as long as possible and I want to.”
At the beginning of this year it seemed that no Dutch flowers would go to the Vatican on Easter, because the patrons were drop out†