Corpus Christi

For over a hundred years, the Catholic cathedral in Arundel, West Sussex has hosted a Corpus Christi celebration. It takes the form of a carpet of flowers that is laid along the nave from the door of the church running towards the altar. Evergreen leaves are first placed on the tiled floor and the flowers are added on top.

Each year there is a theme for the design of the carpet and this year it is the "Year of Mercy," as declared by the Pope. Flower arrangements are also placed around the church at strategic points, such as the font, the altar and the side chapel, which is dedicated to St. Philip Howard.

The festival is one of those moveable feasts, whose date is calculated according to when Easter falls in the year. This year, Corpus Christi fell on Thursday 26th May.

On the day itself, a mass is heard by the Bishop, at the end of which he walks over the carpet of flowers and then leaves the building. He follows London Road, accompanied by a procession and then enters the grounds of Arundel Castle, where a further ceremony is held.

The public are encouraged to visit the cathedral on the day before Corpus Christi, but obviously without walking over the flower pavement and then on the day itself. It is in fact extremely popular, with coach loads of visitors arriving in the town each year.

This tradition of the carpet of flowers was started by Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the 15th Duke of Norfolk, during the 19th century. He had seen similar floral decorations during his tour of Italy and decided to establish something similar in Arundel. He was actually responsible for the building of the cathedral, which was originally dedicated to St. Philip Neri. It is currently dedicated to St. Philip Howard and Our Lady.

St. Philip Howard was created a saint in 1970, as one of the English Catholic Martyrs. He had been imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I for being a Catholic and although he was given the opportunity of being released provided he converted to Anglicanism, he declined to do so. As a result he spent ten years in the Tower of London, where he died, most probably of dysentery. His remains are now buried in a side chapel of the cathedral, where there is also a statue of him and his dog.

The initials H and C have also been incorporated into the flowers this year, as a celebration of the forthcoming marriage of the current Duke's eldest son, Henry to his fiancée Cecilia, which will take place in July. I wish them both a long and happy marriage!