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entry into Jerusalem. It is also called INDULGENCE
SUNDAY, because it begins the week in which the recon
ciliation of sinners takes place. And again it is called
the PASCH OF THE COMPETENTS, because on this day the
aspirants to Baptism received the Symbol or Creed the
formula of which they were to recite by heart on Holy
Saturday. Another name given to this Sunday, is CAPI-
TILAVIUM, or the day of the washing of the head, because
according to Saint Isidore of Seville, on this day the
heads of the catechumens were washed, as a prepara
tory ceremony for Baptism. Yet another name given to
this day was PASCHA FLORIDUM, because Easter which
was regarded as the season of flowers, and but eight
days off, was to-day, as it were, in the bud.
Some liturgists maintain that the ceremony of bless
ing THE PALMS was not practised earlier than the
eighth century. Benedict XIV. declared that it could
be traced to earlier times. We should however
distinguish between the blessing of the palms, and
the procession in which the palms are carried. The
blessing, performed in view of the procession, dates
from a later period ; but the procession, the most
interesting part of the ceremony, is certainly of very
ancient origin. Thus, from the fourth century, it
took place in Jerusalem and in the fifth Saint Cyril
Patriarch of Jerusalem speaks of it in his Catechetical
instructions. In the west, in the sixth century.
Saint Isidore of Seville mentions this practice ; it is
also alluded to in the liturgical records of the seventh
century. This FUNCTION may be divided INTO TWO
PARTS : First, the blessing of the palms and the proces
sion in which they are carried. Secondly, the celebra
tion of the Mass in which is sung the Passion of our
Lord according to Saint Matthew.