The picture is entiteld:
Rome 1869 at the "washing of the feet"
For me it was uncommon to see a man holding a bouquet of flowers?
What kind of hat he is wearing?
Maybe the picture illustrates one of the twelve "Poveri"?
SS Trinità dei Pellegrini, Rome was the papal station for this rite. The man is definitely not one of the confratelli, who have a red habit. Nor is he an acolythe.
He would have his feet washed, and then eat at a banquet in the still existant refectory (which is still called Sala dei Papi because of all the busts). Perhaps the flowers were an offering to the celebrant?
In Italy, in former times, Poveri were dressed in albs.
© picture: The Saint Lawrence Press, 21th of April 2011
"The above picture is taken from Herbert Thurston's 'Lent and Holy Week'. The drawing shows the pope washing the feet of thirteen poor men on Mandy Thursday. ...
In the 'liturgical books of 1962' the Mandatum normally takes place after the Gospel of the novel evening Mass. The feet of twelve men, not thirteen are washed but the feet are no longer kissed."
The bouquet of flowers is consistent with the description of the washing of the feet. That would point to it being taken on Maundy Thursday (Grundonnerstag?).
ReplyDeleteIn the UK, the Queen, clergy and all her party carry bouquets on that day in church, presumably to ward off the smell of the feet of the poor, which would have been washed in earlier times.
Photo of this year's bouquets here:
http://flowersforroyalweddings.blogspot.com/2011/04/maundy-money-maundy-flowers-april-21.html
(The picture shows Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, her husband, Prince Philip and the Dean of Westminster Abbey, the Very Rev John Hall. Sadly he is not wearing a hat.
Sadly also, I do not know what kind of hat your altar boy is wearing but it is a very fine one.
Is he wearing one of these?
ReplyDeletehttp://domusbirettarum.blogspot.com/2011/04/monstrous-pre-monstratensian.html
Indeed, he is one of the "apostoli" of the papal mandatum.
ReplyDeletehttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zz7eQa1BR7w/S60SjATVZnI/AAAAAAAAAb0/OVXTWcf9osk/s1600/PIC_0001.JPG